Endosymbiosis
by Ryka Spar
Summary: "I wanted to be in the Hero Course, but like many others here, I was forced to choose a different track. Such is life." Shigeyo Shosei, just like Shinso, is one of the many who didn't cut it the first time around and was forced into General Studies. With a Quirk more suited for villainy, she'll have a tougher fight to obtain the things her heart longs for.
1. Start Line

All right, joined the bandwagon. Just so everyone knows, I'm writing this for fun (I needed to write something else to make it over my writer's block I'm having on my other story). I'm not entirely sure where this is going, but I am enjoying myself (so far). I must be since I made 19 OC's to fill 1-C, that was crazy fun, not even lying. I loved making all of them, even if some of their quirks haven't been officially titled yet, haha xD.

Down to business: I do not own My Hero Academia, just my multitude of OC's. Also, I'm going with classic Japanese naming conventions: Surname, First-Name. I'm probably not going to do this with every chapter (should this continue), but this one is littered with song lyrics, cause Sho likes music and she listens to it regularly.

I hope you all enjoy! Thank you so much for reading and let me know what you think!

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Endosymbiosis

Start Line

※

_It's a beautiful day and I can't stop myself from smilin'_

_If we're drinkin', then I'm buyin'_

_And I know there's no denyin'_

_It's a beautiful day, the sun is up, the music's playin'_

_And even if it started rainin'_

_You won't hear this boy complainin'_

The upbeat tune pulsed into Shosei's ears, begging her to bounce with it, which she would have had she not currently been walking in public amongst dozens of fellow students, so instead she settled with tapping her fingers to the rhythm. The song was only made better by the fact that it _was_ a beautiful day, not just because the weather was great, if a bit brisk, but because it was finally the day for U.A.'s Entrance Exam.

Shosei had studied hard for the written portion and done as much physical activity as possible for the practical since she'd received the letter stating she had been chosen to participate ten months earlier. She was still nervous for multiple reasons, but she felt relatively prepared. Though, nothing had quite readied her for seeing U.A in person. Its size was astonishing. Did they really use all this space?

As she wove between a few people and passed through the doorway of the building, Shosei pulled her headphones off her head and let them drape around her neck. The hand not tapping to the music, was tucked into her jacket pocket gripping her phone, where it tapped the pause button. She waited briefly in the line indicating her section of surname starting letters to reach the check-in table.

Upon arrival she handed the woman at the table her temporary pass ID. "Shigeyo Shosei," she introduced before being asked.

The dark-haired women flipped a few pages before uttering, "Ah, there you are!" Having successfully checked the girl on the list, she began filing through a rolodex. "Welcome to U.A., we're glad you could make it!" She smiled broadly, handing Shosei the card she'd pulled out along with her ID. "Here's your information and identification card." As Shosei took them, she added. "If you have any questions, there are multiple U.A. student volunteers in the hallways, you can recognize them by their uniforms."

"Sure, thanks," Shosei murmured, looking down at her new info card.

"Next!" she heard the women call just as she pulled her headphones back on, telling them to play music a moment later.

"_All right,"_ she thought, _"examinee number three-one-four-one and I need to find classroom 3-A. Can't be too hard."_

Knowing that the three in her info would mean she was in a third-year classroom, Shosei exited the building again, figuring it would be easier to go through the third-year entrance than try to find it from the inside. Leaving from the door with the big one and moving to the door with the large three. From there she traversed through the hallways and up some stairs to the classroom floors. She was so distracted staring up at the ceiling to read the signs – _Why are they that high? _– that she never noticed the other figure coming around the corner until they nearly collided. The other person she'd almost bumped into quickly shifted out of her way, hands going up like they intended to grab her shoulders, but never followed through with the action.

She meanwhile, jerked back, her right foot settling behind her, solidifying her stance. The hand in her pocket twitched, clenching against her phone.

Shosei pulled her headphones off. "Sorry!" she exclaimed, noticing the tall, muscular man wore a U.A. uniform. His hair was blond and mostly slicked back with the exception of some that was swept upwards on the top of his head.

He laughed loudly, blue eyes sparkling. "No problem! Sorry I startled you!" At his energetic response, Shosei relaxed her body and posture. "Here for the exam?" He asked despite the fact that he obviously already knew the answer to that.

"Yeah," Shosei nodded anyway.

"Need help finding your examination room?"

"I think I've got it." She jerked her free thumb over her shoulder at the previous classroom numbers. "According to those, three-A should be around the corner, right?"

At her words, the young man somehow brightened even more. "Yeah! That'll be my classroom next year! I'll also be proctoring the test in there today! How exciting!" His hands clenched and he pumped his arms up and down.

"Uh, yeah," she agreed warily. "Hey, uh, they said we could ask you guys any question if we needed, yeah?"

He suddenly straightened back up, stopping his arm pumping. "Yes, they did. Fire away!"

"What's the practical exam going to be like?"

He blinked a few times before he threw his head back, hands on his waist, and laughed boisterously. "Nice try! But even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you."

Shosei shrugged, not surprised. "Worth a shot, she had said any question."

"True! At U.A. you should always be aware of a teacher's phrasing. Creative thinking is always rewarded here!"

"Er, right."

"Anyway! I need to get the tests; I'll see you in there!" He quickly marched past her, calling over his shoulder with a vigorous wave. "Good luck!" Shosei had barely half-heartedly raised her arm to return the gesture before he was gone.

Still slightly overwhelmed, Shosei found the classroom she was looking for and entered. There were a few other students, leaving a fair number of seats to choose from, so she selected one on the far side of the room in the second row. Settled in, Shosei closed her eyes as she pulled her headphones back over her ears and began listening to her music to help settle her nerves.

_I know you're dying to meet me_

_But I can just tell you this_

_Baby, as soon as you meet me_

_You'll wish that you never did_

As time passed, even with her eyes closed and headphones on, she could still feel that the room had grown fuller and busier as other students entered and picked seats for themselves.

It was sometime later, her left hand still shoved in her pocket and wrapped around her phone, when she felt the little machine go off in a series of buzzes. She pulled it out to stop the alarm she'd set as a warning for the test's start.

She opened her eyes to spot one last person darting into the room and claiming the last seat as she put her headphones away and tucked her phone back in her pocket. One minute later, exactly five minutes before the hour, the door slid open and the guy, she'd sort of met earlier, entered. Tucked under one arm was a thick folder likely filled with the testing booklets.

"I'm Togata Mirio." He introduced as he began handing out booklets and pencils to be passed back. "I'll be proctoring the written portion of the test for you all." Togata, she now knew, circled back to the front podium. "All right everyone!" He called loudly, just as Shosei was taking her share and passing the extras back. "This test is gonna go…?"

"Awful," Shosei muttered sarcastically after a moment of silence to his attempted call and response. She didn't realize he'd heard until her burst out laughing a moment later.

"I was looking for awesome, but that works too!" He looked about the room. "Everyone have their booklet, pencils and response sheet? Okay, good! You have sixty minutes for this portion of the exam." He twisted around, looking at the clock on the wall over the blackboard. "And –" he dragged the word out for a good ten seconds as he waited for the second hand to hit the twelve, however he ran out of breath before he got there, but the instant it hit, "Begin!"

Shosei tore off the little perforated tabs meant to prove the booklets hadn't been tampered with and flipped to the first page.

The U.A. exam's topics ranged from mathematics to reading comprehension to English to sciences, along with a few other topics. It would last a little under five hours, not all topics took an hour, plus a fifteen-minute break halfway through.

She'd applied to U.A. on a dare from her not-so-friends in her middle school, not actually expecting to be selected. Sure, a lot of people applied, but the number chosen to take the test was drastically reduced from there. While, she was in the top end of her school, she was only so high-ranked just to experience the joy of having prevented someone else from being in the top ten, not that that was overly impressive, her school wasn't known for the productive populace it produced.

Not only that, but she was sure they'd see her address listed and assume she was another soon-to-be thug for stopping. She didn't live in the nicest of neighborhoods. Well, _yes_, it was 'nice' in the sense of it wasn't a slum and most of the people were actually decently rich, but it was well-known that the whole area she lived in was founded by Yakuza descendants, such as her foster parents.

She wasn't, or so Shosei assumed, she'd been adopted when she was around five, soon after she'd developed her Quirk. It had been a dismaying realization for her happy, little orphan heart when she'd made the connection. Her foster parents regularly adopted children with '_interesting´_ Quirks. She wasn't anything else to them and her regular acts of rebellion, varying from hair dying to piercings to not coming home at night, had only reinforced that truth. Even the obnoxious timing of drum playing had only resulted in pissed off foster siblings.

But now that the dare had unexpectedly panned out, there was an undeniable light she could feel herself being pulled towards. A chance for something _better_. One she'd take with both hands and refuse to let go.

"And that's time!" Togata called out for the last time. "Congratulations on finishing, examinees! Please pass your booklets and answer sheets forward. The pencils are yours to keep!" He gave the class a thumbs up at that news. They weren't special in any way other than being blue and having the name of the school stamped on them in gold.

Relieved conversation broke out and Shosei raised her arms, giving her shoulders a good stretch as she turned around prepared for the incoming stack of papers. Once she passed them forward, she deposited her two, apparently collectable, pencils in her backpack and dug out her headphones, which she immediately hung around her neck.

"Think you did well?" A voice nearby asked. A hand waved at her a moment later, catching her attention from her bag.

"Huh? Oh," she hadn't realized the guy in the front seat was talking to her. "Uh, yeah. Hopefully. I mean, none of it felt too difficult, which either means I did well or am too stupid to realize I was getting them all wrong."

The dark blond-haired boy laughed. "Yeah, no kidding. I thought for sure it would somehow be worse, since it's U.A. and all. Any predictions for the practical?"

Shosei shrugged. "Figured something Quirk related, but otherwise, I haven't the foggiest."

"All right, my favorite students!" Togata interrupted all the conversations. "Thanks for all your hard work! You guys have been assigned Auditorium B for the Practical Exam Orientation. It's located in the first-year's wing. Good luck! Plus Ultra!" He launched his fist into the air at the motto.

His words encouraged a few some poor imitations of his excited call, but no one felt fully up to it. Shosei hauled her bag onto her back and got ready to head out. The dark blond-haired boy did the same, catching up and joining her on her right.

"Good luck!" Togata said to them as they passed, then looked directly, and somewhat unnervingly, into her eyes. "I hope to see you in the coming year!"

"Thanks…" she replied somewhat questioningly.

The boy next to her laughed and once they exited the room said, "You know that guy?"

"No, I doubt U.A. would let that happen. I just, almost literally, ran into him in the hallway before the exam."

"Aah," he breathed out. "Oh, I'm Asano Mitsuaki." He held out his hand.

"Shigeyo Shosei." She took his and they shook.

"Nice to meet you," he grinned blindingly and Shosei had to blink. It had actually felt briefly like looking at the sun. "I'm betting the practical is gonna somehow be graded use of our Quirks, huh?"

"Probably," she agreed politely. It was pretty obvious that it would somehow have to be a Quirk test, after all this was a school that made heroes. If your Quirk was useless for that, they'd want to know right away.

Asano continued chatting away at her, pausing with her long enough for her to buy a drink from a vending machine they were passing. She punched two buttons at once but was only rewarded with one box.

Once they arrived there was another student volunteer by the door repeating directions endlessly. "Please enter in an orderly manner and find your assigned seating, ordered by examinee number. You'll find it on the examination card your received upon check-in. The seats are arranged from low to high going towards the front."

She and Asano fished out their hand-sized cards from their pockets. "Aw, man," Asano moaned looking over her shoulder. "Looks like we're not sitting together."

"Or in the same practical location, given that there." She pointed out.

"Probably for the best. It's got to be a competition of some kind."

"Most likely," she agreed as they passed through the doors. It was a huge auditorium; the largest Shosei had ever seen in her life, not that she went around comparing auditoriums, but still. The size was bordering on ridiculous and the volume of the mostly full room was just shy of uncomfortable. "I'm on the right." She briefly gestured in the direction with her thumb.

"Left," Asano pointed, turning a bit. "See you later! We're gonna rock this!" He pumped a fist.

"Sure," she said as they parted ways.

Reading the numbered placards, Shosei made her way to the far-right set of seats and down a few rows. At each spot she noticed a piece of paper that everyone seemed to be looking at and talking about with their neighbor. A pristine, untouched piece awaited her on the table before her seat.

Dropping her bag on the floor, she sat and flipped the paper over.

"Bullocks."

Dropping her elbow on the desk, she rested her cheek in her hand. The shadowed robot images stared back mockingly.

"What a bunch of crap!" she snapped, giving the day-crushing paper a hard shove away. She didn't mean it to, but it caught air as she propelled it forward, sending it flipping aerially a few times before it smacked into a blond boy's head a few rows down.

He jerked and whipped around, blue eyes scanning for his assailant. "Who threw that?" Shosei stared, maintaining her bored and aloof visage. Like hell she was copping to it. He probably would have continued searching if at that moment the lights hadn't gone abruptly out, plunging the room into semi-darkness.

The boy sat down, giving up his hunt in favor of getting ready for the orientation's start. However, another boy with wild hair in the row before her and diagonally to her left, turned his head slightly, catching her eyes momentarily before retuning forward once more.

With loud industrial pops, three large screens and lights flared to life in the front, illuminating a single person now on stage in the front of the room, posed like it was the start of a rock concert.

"What's up U.A. candidates? Thanks for tuning in to your school DJ! Let's hear ya!"

"Great," she grumbled, "another overly-energetic freak." She pulled her headphones over her ears, tuning completely out as she played her music. It didn't matter what the instructions were, she couldn't pass. Her Quirk was useless against robots.

Still miserable, Shosei followed everyone out of the auditorium, joining a herd of girls as they moved to the locker rooms. Despondently, she changed into the exercise clothes she'd brought along and shuffled herself to the correct bus that would take her to the battle ground she'd been assigned. Picking an open pair of seats near the back, she relaxed into the cushion, closing her eyes as her music pulsed a soothing tune. She felt the seat shift as someone joined her, but Shosei didn't bother looking.

_Take me high and I'll sing_

_you make everything okay_

_We are one in the same_

_you take all of the pain away_

_Save me if I become_

_My demons_

Through the bus ride, she maintained her position, even after it had stopped, Shosei stayed seated, allowing her seatmate, along with everyone else, to leave before her. It had taken the whole ride, but she felt better from her earlier upset. Letting out a breath, Shosei stood and exited, pulling off her headphones as she joined the gathered crowd.

"You're the girl that caused the commotion before Orientation."

Shosei shifted, spotting the guy who spoke. Approaching her, hands shoved in his pockets, was wild-haired boy from the auditorium. He was a few inches taller than her and now that there was light, she could see his hair was a purple color a few shades lighter than his eyes.

"And you're the guy who figured out it was me. If it counts, I didn't mean to," she added with a shrug.

He settled into a spot next to her. "Given your earlier outcry, your Quirk must be no good for the exam?"

"Yeah. Given your posture, you're the same."

"Yeah," his shoulders hunched for a moment, before rolling them back and straightening up.

"Sucks."

The boy nodded. "I worried that might be the case, so I applied to General Studies as well."

"Me too, actually. Glad I'm not the only one who doubted their ability to pass the Practical." The conversation was growing more interesting by the second. "What's your Quirk?" she asked, fully turning to face him.

He reached up to rub at his neck. "Brainwashing. I can take control of a person after they answer a question I ask."

"Couldn't you just," Shosei waved her hand vaguely around at the gathered crowd, "take control of someone here and have them get the points for you?"

The boy stared at her for a moment, slightly tilting his head. "Weren't you paying attention in Orientation? Attacking fellow examinees will get you disqualified."

"Ah," Shosei breathed out, glancing upwards at the sky for a second. "No, I wasn't. I can see the cause for concern there."

"What about you? What does your Quirk do?"

"Culture," she stated, crossing her arms. "My body stores and cultures microorganisms, such as bacteria, that I can pass on through touch."

"That's a –"

"If you say 'good Quirk for a villain,' I'm going to punch you in the solar plexus. No attacking each other be damned."

A small smile grew on the guy's face, amusement entering his eyes. "I was _going_ to say, a fascinating ability. The applications of your Quirk are nearly limitless."

"Eh," Shosei shrugged her shoulders. "I have to catch it first. But I'm sure brainwashing has it's uses. I mean, you can walk up to a villain, ask him what he's doing, and when he answers, it'll be sitting on the sidewalk waiting for the police to show. And _you_ don't have to touch them. Who knows where they've been?" She shuddered for emphasis.

"Do germs even affect you?"

"Not for as long, but that doesn't mean I don't feel like I need a shower."

The guy grinned even more, finally seeming to have thawed completely. "I'm Shinso Hitoshi," he introduced and held out his hand.

"Shigeyo Shosei. You sure you want to do that?" she nodded towards his extended hand.

"I'm not concerned," he replied, proffering his arm even more, to which Shosei grinned and took his hand in hers.

"Begin!" A shout echoed out over them all, causing them to drop their grip as everyone turned to stare at the distant observation tower. "Go! Go! Go! A real battle waits for no one!"

The crowd of people took off like a herd of startled antelope, stampeding for the faux city while she and Shinso watched.

"Well," Shosei began, "we can stay out here and be bored or go in and watch."

"While unable to defend ourselves?"

"I'm sure someone in there would help," she nodded her head towards the open gates. "But if you want to stay, do so. I'm going to go watch." Shosei trotted off, entering the city, a second later she heard footsteps join her from behind.

Hunks of metal already littered the streets, smoking and smoldering from the many Quirks that had blasted them apart. Echoing down the streets were explosions and battle cries as the fight raged everywhere. At the end of the road someone punched a robot so hard it flew into a building, breaking both under the force of the hit. The attacker ran off soon after making sure the villain bot was down.

"Hm," Shosei hummed, nudging a chunk of green metal with her foot. "This isn't as exciting as I thought it would be." She confessed to Shinso as he stepped past her, looking down another street.

"I suppose we can at least learn what U.A. expects from us as students, even if we can't fight."

"What, no taekwondo? Kung fu? Krav Maga?" She asked looking down a different intersecting road.

"Do _you_ know Krav Maga?" he returned. Shosei only laughed in response; a bright red cross painted on a building catching her attention.

"Hey, look at that." She pointed it out.

"A medical station?"

"Yeah, think it's manned?" Without looking back, she took off at a jog toward the building.

"Why does it matter?" He maintained pace next to her.

"I'm curious." Stopping at the glass window, she shifted back and forth, looking through at different angles. "I don't see anything," she stated as she reached for the door. Shosei stumbled as it gave beneath her hard push, she hadn't expected it to be unlocked. Looking over her shoulder at Shinso, she shrugged and entered. He sighed, but followed after.

Inside was a decent sized waiting area, lined with chairs and decorated with colorful and overly-happy posters. Partitioning the back of the room was a service counter, equipped with a desk bell.

"Spooky," she voiced quietly.

Hands tucked into her pockets, Shosei crept forward, looking through the open-framed doorway that led into, from what she could see, an empty backroom. She pulled a hand out and dinged the bell twice, but everything remained silent. Or relatively silent as she could still hear the battle outside raging.

"Guess no one's here," Shosei said to Shinso, who was standing in the middle of the waiting area.

"Then let's go."

"One more thing," she hedged right before she hopped the counter.

"I imagine looting the buildings during the exam is frowned upon."

"First," Shosei held up a finger, "I'm not looting, I'm exploring. Second," another finger joined, "what else am I supposed to do?" Using her raised hand Shosei pulled a cabinet open, revealing fully supplied shelves of rolled gauze, adhesive tape, and compression bandages. Another was full of all kinds of disinfectant.

"Weird," she muttered, "why would they stock…" she trailed off, eyes widening.

"_Creative thinking is always rewarded here!"_

She whirled around on Shinso, startling the guy as she slammed her hands on the countertop. "I think we can still do this."

"What?"

"Why would U.A. waste the money to fill this place with medical equipment?" She whipped a few drawers open, exposing stainless steel scissors and scalpels, even suture kits. "Because some people might not _be able_ to fight, but they can still help."

"I don't know how to –"

"You can stick a bandage on someone, right? Maybe if we show U.A. we're still willing to do what we can, they'll take that into consideration."

"I guess it can't hurt." Shinso looked down, scratching at the back of his neck briefly. "And, I suppose, it's what a hero would do." Shosei nodded firmly as he met her eyes. "So, what do we do?"

"It's unlikely these robots can hurt anyone _too_ badly, right?" She pulled open a couple more drawers to familiarize herself with the contents, finding a first-aid bag in a lower cabinet. "Here," she tossed it to Shinso, then pulled one out for herself, slinging it over her head. "For any immediate needs, but otherwise I guess we go out find anyone hurt, drag 'em back here and patch 'em up. Give them a lolli," she added as the last drawer was packed with colorful candies. Which she grabbed a handful and shoved them in her jacket pocket.

"We've got like eight minutes left, let's do this!" Shosei tossed her legs over the desk, wincing and cursing as she kicked the bell, sending it clanging across the room. "Sorry."

"All right," Shinso agreed, crossing the strap of his bag over his chest as well.

The pair of makeshift medics left, jogging down street, heading for the loudest and closest commotion. They rounded a corner in time to see some dark-haired kid uppercut a robot so hard its head shot off.

"Hey!" Shosei shouted at him, causing him to turn, eyes wide. "Do you know if anyone is injured?" The boy's stance relaxed a bit at her words.

"Uh, yeah, actually." He pointed over his shoulder. "I think there was a guy over there, not too far. I dunno what happened, but he was bleeding."

"Thanks." The boy nodded, getting ready to sprint off again. "Hey," she called again, catching his attention. "Let people know we've set up a medical care station a block down this street. Big red cross, can't miss it!" She pointed the way she and Shinso had come.

"Sure thing!" he shot her a thumbs up, taking off to fight more faux villains.

Shinso and Shosei jogged away in the direction the guy had given them. It didn't take long to find the person he'd been talking about. A brown-haired boy was leaning against a building, clutching his head and groaning as blood ran down his face.

"You all right? Can you speak? What happened?"

"I was stupid," he grumbled, "I wasn't paying attention and took a blow from one of those dumb robots."

Shosei pulled his hand away from his head, inspecting the cut. Shinso was already pulling out disinfectant and gauze. "It doesn't look too bad. Head wounds like to bleed, but you're coherent and that's good." She took the proffered items from her partner, tilting the other boy's head back, she covered his eyes with her hand and poured some disinfectant on his wound before pressing gauze to it and adhering it to his skin with tape Shinso had already ripped off.

"You're pretty good at this," she told him with a smile.

"So are you."

"We play a little rough where I live." She spoke next to the guy she was tending. "How's that?"

"Better? I think?" he answered. "Thanks."

"Okay. Let's get you up and to the clinic, probably shouldn't leave you out here for a robo-villain to run over."

She grabbed one side, while Shinso helped him on the other. Happily, he seemed pretty stable on his feet. Another good sign he wasn't seriously hurt.

They made good time back and when they got there, there was a girl standing outside clutching at her arm.

"You take care of it, I got him," Shinso told her, to which she nodded and ran to the girl.

"Come inside," she called, pushing the door open with her back and gestured her in. She let the door swing shut and grabbed a cleansing wipe to clean her hands, not that she needed it, her body maintained a sterile state in the sense that she only passed on what she wanted to, but it'd look good to seem like she was running a clean shop, so to speak.

Once ready, she tended to the girl, barely noticing as Shinso helped sit the other guy in a chair. Just barely hearing a cry of, "Five minutes remaining!"

But what did surprise her was when she'd finished with the girl, there were even more people in the room, some seemed to be injured and they were patiently waiting for either her or Shinso to finish with their current patients. There were others, though, that seemed physically fine, but emotionally despairing. Perhaps they were either doing a lot worse on the exam than expected or just given it up as hopeless.

"Ah, wait a sec," she murmured to the new guy stepping up to her. She quickly cleaned her hands again, but this time she pulled her headphones from around her neck, reconfigured them and then set them and her phone down on the service counter. She hit play on the screen and let her music fill the air.

"All right," she approached the previous boy, "what's hurting you?"

Some distance away, watching on the many screens were the teachers of U.A., carefully observing the applicants.

"Well, well," a certain older woman commented, watching a particular screen where the two pretend medics were doing their best. Nothing serious had come through their door, and the boy was helping those who needed aid even less, but neither of them were doing a half bad job. "They're undoubtedly trying their best, aren't they?"

"How are they doing, Recovery Girl?" A metallic voice questioned her. Snipe's spurs clinked as he walked up next to her. "More good than harm, I hope."

"Oh yes," she agreed, "they're not doctors, but that girl definitely has a fair idea about what she's doing. She seems surprisingly well versed, in fact. Quite observant, as well."

"Well then, perhaps, we should give the participants in their Center something to think about?" he asked, flipping a panel open and pressing a large red button.

Back at the clinic, Shosei was cleansing her hands again, when the ground shook to a seismic degree. People shouted and cried out at the surprising tremor, which settled into a continuous rumbling and vibration of the earth.

"What the hell," she murmured, looking out the large window, spotting a mile-high dust cloud. She pulled out a drawer and grabbed a scalpel. It would be useless against these 'villains,' but she felt better with a blade of some kind in her hand. "I'll be back," she called to Shinso, who looked concerned about the level of her sanity as she stepped out the door.

She jogged down the road a little way, hearing more screaming and seeing people fleeing in all directions.

Shosei's eyes went wide as large green robot head emerged from the dust cloud, towering over the buildings around it. "Holy f…" It rounded a corner, clipping a building as it turned. This clipping, however, tore off half the top two floors of the building, sending chunks of concrete tumbling and causing another tremor through the earth.

"Less than two minutes left!" The announcer screamed; somehow louder than the noise the giant robot was making.

It wasn't much time, but it had turned down _her_ street and given the direction of its beady, red eye ports was coming for the clinic, and that made two minutes seem like an eternity.

"What the hell is _wrong_ with you people! You call yourselves teachers!" she screamed at the incoming bot.

"_One needs_ will _and _conviction_."_ A voice from time past spoke in her head.

Her hand tightened on the smooth metal of the scalpel.

"Analyze," she told herself.

If it had been a small bot, she might have been able to build up enough bacteria and jammed a wheel. That would have completely exhausted her, but it might've worked. This one was far too large for that. She needed something else.

Her brain churned rapidly, her eyes scanning over its metal body. A robot may not be human, but it still had weak points. Like any machine it was in possession of parts that made it move forward. Disabling those would stop its steady approach. Perhaps a hydraulic pump or tube, a crank belt for the wheels. Aim for that joint, just like breaking a leg.

Shosei, widened her stance, preparing for a jump.

Something, someone, shouted, diving out of a crossing alley into the exact spot she'd just been eyeing. Yelling at the top of his lungs, or screaming like a maniac some might call it, he pounded his way into the hip joint that connected the wheel arch to the body. Metal flew everywhere under the brutal beating and within moments the giant robot sagged suddenly to one side, its own weight snapping the axels inside, stopping its forward progression. The arms drooped and its red eye-lights flicked out.

With another insane scream, the guy burst out of the machine, scattering more metal everywhere. One piece flying straight for her, she dodged it enough to keep from being brained, but it still shaved her right shoulder as it passed and she hissed feeling the familiar burn of a cut opening.

"Oh, crap! Sorry man, you all right?" The guy cried, hauling himself out of the machine. As he jumped down and jogged towards her, and as his skin seemed to soften, Shosei recognized him as the dark-haired guy who'd pointed out the first injured person they'd handled.

Clutching her shoulder to stem the bleeding, it didn't feel too bad, Shosei twisted her fingers, twirling the scalpel in her hand so she could slide it up her sleeve and out of sight.

"Yeah," she answered, finally glancing at the wound. Blood had definitely spread, but it was luckily a very minor injury.

"You need help with that?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'll go back and fix it up."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, but, uh, thanks for taking care of that," she nodded towards the still robot.

The guy straightened, pulling back his shoulders. "Oh, yeah, sure. No problem! I saw it going for the clinic and thought what kind of manly hero would let a villain beat up a hospital, right? I knew all those hurt people were in there and I couldn't let that happen! Glad it worked out!"

"And that's it. Time's up!"

A wailing siren followed the announcer's words, signaling the end to anyone that, miraculously, hadn't heard him.

Shosei turned around and walked away. "You sure you're good?" the guy called after her.

"Peachy," she called back.

She had to wait for people to finish exiting the clinic before she could get back inside. The room now clear of everyone except Shinso.

"Do you need help?"

"I've got it, thanks. Just tell the bus to wait for me." He nodded, leaving her alone. In the background, her music continued to play.

_Palms rise to the universe, as we moonshine and molly_

_Feel the warmth, we'll never die_

_We're like diamonds in the sky_

_You're a shooting star I see, a vision of ecstasy_

The scalpel slid out of her sleeve and she flung it away. The point stabbing into the weeping red face of the level ten on the pain scale poster.

Huffing, she walked around the counter, pulling the zipper of her jacket down and carefully shedding it, allowing her to get a good look at the injury. Her first assessment had been good, it wasn't bad. A clean cut, which encouraged bleeding, but nothing serious.

Not worried about an infection, her immune system was superhuman after all, Shosei moved straight to the bandaging. Sticking some gauze on top to slow the bleeding, she wiped up what had run from off her skin before ripping open a large square adhesive bandage and then swore as Shinso leaned across the counter making her quickly slap the bandage on. She held her hand over it.

"All set?" He asked, watching as she shifted to put her back to him and pull the right half of her white and teal track jacket back on over her black tank.

"Almost." Shosei began picking up the littered trash that had been left.

"I doubt you have to clean."

"I was taught not to leave a mess."

Shinso nodded a little at her words, but didn't say anything else as he silently joined her. Between the two it didn't take long, but when he paused, Shosei caught him staring at the impaled crying face. She'd forgotten that.

"That's not your pain level, right?" he asked, seeming to skim over the fact that it was unnecessary violence on her behalf.

"No way, that's a ten for my looks."

He grinned, grabbing the scalpel and pulling it free. "Ten for overconfidence, maybe."

"Rude," Shosei laughed as Shinso tossed the tool into a disinfectant bath.

"Good enough?"

"Yeah, sure." Shosei stopped her music and rearranged her headphones so she could loop them over her neck again. "Good to go."

They walked back to the bus silently. Once on board, he joined her on the bench.

"Between the five-hour test and this, I think I'm going to sleep the rest of the day," she murmured, closing her eyes. "I'm feeling exhausted."

The bench in front of them rattled hard as someone crashed into the seat. It was the same dark-haired guy from earlier, leaning over the headrest to speak with her. "Hey, I heard the school nurse is going between Battle Centers healing anyone hurt. Thought you might want to check it out."

"Ah, thanks for your concern, but it's all right. I've experienced worse."

"How manly! I'm Kirishima Eijiro, it's great to meet you!"

"Like that." Shinso placed a fist over his mouth and continued to watch the one-sided conversation.

"That was some test, huh? U.A. really is amazing. Man, I'm so hoping I'll be accepted!" He, Kirishima, Shosei reluctantly reminded herself to use his name, continued chatting away as eventually the bus filled up and trundled them back to the main school building. She found that Kirishima didn't require too much input from her, easily accepting her 'uh-huh's, yeah's, sure's, and neat's' without much fuss.

When the bus finally stopped and they all unloaded, just as they were about to part, Kirishima added, "Oh man, wait, I totally forgot! What's your guy's names?"

"Shigeyo."

"Shinso."

"Great! I'll do my best to find you two when the semester starts!" Shosei gave him a thumbs up in response, watching as he took off to his own locker room to change.

"Guess he doesn't realize how bad we did on the exam." Shinso stated, walking off in a different direction for his own locker room. Shosei set off after, as the one she needed seemed to be the same way.

"Maybe for you, but I _nailed_ the written. I've at least got General Studies in the bag."

"Definitely a ten in overconfidence."

"You are so rude."

※※※※※

Shosei returned to her neighborhood some hours later, having avoided going back earlier by getting lunch and then running a few different errands, including finding a few cute Pro-Hero pencil toppers for her new U.A. pencils, which would probably get her shanked in this neighborhood. She just couldn't say no to giving her pencil some pointy All Might hair tufts though.

_Well they say I'm too loud for this town_

_So I lit a match and burned it down_

_What do you want from me, I'm not America's sweetheart_

_But you love me anyway_

_My hands are dirty and my heart is cold_

The sun was just starting to set, so Shosei supposed it was time to get back to her place and sequester herself in her room. She slipped through her favorite alleyways to keep off main streets, music thrumming through her headphones.

When she was a few dozen feet from crossing a street and reaching her place, a figure stepped around a corner, cutting off her exit from the alleyway she'd been intending to take. Her hand jerked, reaching back before freezing as she recognized the person. Instead she pulled her headphones off, letting them drape around her neck. He'd probably been waiting for her to show and he knew this was her preferred path.

"Where have you been, Sho?" The man asked, though the tone was pretty close to a demand. His posture slouched as he leaned on the wall, making him seem not as dangerous as he could very quickly become.

"Taking my entrance exam," she defended, "or is that illegal now?"

Dei grinned, pushing back his long dark hair. "You should have told me. I would have wished you good luck."

"I'm pretty sure too many 'good luck' wishes becomes a jinx." Shosei continued walking closer and Dei straightened up as she grew nearer. "Didn't wanna risk it."

"You're too smart for that to happen, genius little scholar." He paused for a second. "Hey, I know, how 'bout we go out and celebrate." He slung an arm around her shoulder. "I know for a fact Bar Shaddaa is having a poker night. Could be fun."

Shosei tapped her chin and pouted her lips, pretending to think. It was their classic hustle; she was the card-shark while he subtly worked the other players with his Quirk. Bar Shaddaa wasn't the closest, but it was known for its not-so-pretty cliental. A little dress-up, make-up, and a fake ID, no one would ask any questions about her.

"I suppose I could use a pick-me-up." At Dei's disapproving look she added, "or just some cash." His frown turned back into a grin, flashing his white teeth. "Let me drop my stuff off and change. I'll meet you back out here?"

"Excellent!" He gave her a squeeze with his arm before releasing her and fixing his white-fur lined black leather jacket. It was tacky, but so were his brown pants and black shoes. It gave him a thorough down-on-his-luck vibe. "We'll win this thing and rake in the dough!"

* * *

Credits:

_It's a Beautiful Day_ – Michael Bublé

_Alone_ – Halsey

_My Demons_ – Starset

_Diamonds_ – Rihanna (I prefer Farewell to Fear's cover and that's the version I imagine playing)

_America's Sweetheart_ – Elle King

Entry on Shosei's Quirk:

Name: Culture

When she comes across a microorganism, her body cultures and stores it for later use. For example, when she first came across chicken pox, she got sick, but her body quickly created antibodies, curing her illness much faster than normal and storing the virus, which she can then give to another person through touch, even if they have had it before. It works the same way (as examples) with the common cold (A virus, even though it is not technically a microorganism for science reasons), cryptosporidium (a parasite - Which she can't use (yet), but knows she can 'store'), salmonella (a bacteria), and athlete's foot (a fungus - which she also cannot currently use and is currently unaware if her body even stores it). Once she 'catches' the microbe it is stored for life, unless she herself purges it from her body.

I hope I explained that well, let me know if you have questions, I'll try my best to answer. I feel I've fleshed out her Quirk decently, but there may still be holes.


	2. Imperfection

I had too much fun with the first chapter and I decided to continue as my 'off' project for my other story when I'm having writer's block. Also, I love this show (I haven't read the manga) and I think I'd just like to have a fic for it xD

Thank you for the review, Favs, and Alerts! I hope you enjoy chapter 2! Let me know what you guys think. Please and Thank you!

* * *

Endosymbiosis

Imperfection

※

One week. It took one week of checking the mail before anyone else could get to it, and making her foster siblings suspicious of her suddenly helpful nature, before she was finally rewarded. Not trusting the privacy of her room as far as she could throw it, Shosei disappeared down the backways of her neighborhood and tucked herself away in the vacant storage space belonging to extended family that she'd taken over for her own personal use.

One pocket knife and a wrist flick later, the envelope was open. Inside were a letter and a small holographic projector. Shosei pulled out the latter and set it on the ground before her, intending to check out the letter first.

The projector had a different opinion of what should be first.

Scaring her half to death as it lit up and screamed out, "Greetings, I am here, young Shigeyo Shosei, to discuss the results of your entrance exam!" All Might paused briefly, standing straight with his hands on his hips. "I regret to inform you; you did not score enough points in the practical test to pass."

Shosei frowned at that. Did they really need to send a projection of the Number One hero to tell her that? It felt more like they were rubbing her failure in her face.

"That said, your written exam was Exemplary! With a Capital E!" He thrust a giant fisted thumbs up at the camera. "You Detroit Smashed the previous record, claiming the number one high-scoring spot!" At this he thrust his fist in the air so hard the camera shook. "Sorry," he said to someone off screen, before returning his attention to the camera and Shosei, who was flabbergasted.

Had she really done _that_ well? Sure, she hadn't thought the test too bad, but it hadn't been _easy_ by any means. She was smart, yes, she was in the top of both her class and school (the bar was pretty low there), but she wouldn't call herself a genius. A quick learner, maybe. Or perhaps adaptable. The test had been littered with trick questions, meant not just to weed out those lacking the smarts, but to likely give the teachers a good psychological look into their applicant's minds.

"Well done!" All Might continued. "Between that and the valiant effort you put forth on the practical, we, the faculty, would like to welcome, you, Shigeyo Shosei, to UA High School's General Studies program! Congratulations!"

The projector light shut off, whisking away All Might's smiling visage. Still, Shosei stared at where he'd once been.

She'd made it? Maybe not into the Heroics Course, but she'd expected that, especially after the practical Exam. Hell, she'd expected a flat rejection to UA completely. Did they even _look_ at the Junior High she'd put down? Her address? Neither were known for their outstanding, law-abiding population.

She could live with this.

_Could _she live with this?

Her hands were shaking and her heart was trying to pound a hole through her ribs. Shosei closed her eyes, placing one of her shaking hands on top of her heart, feeling the rapid beats. Taking a deep breath, she held it before letting it out. Repeating the action again and again, until her heart had calmed its feverish pace and her limbs had stopped shaking.

Once settled, Shosei finally pulled out the letter. It was basically a summary of what All Might had said, though it stated her scores and rankings in both tests. The practical was all in rescue points – she knew there'd been more to it – but it might as well have said 'nice try.' No doubt there were people with much higher scores, and that would have determined the pass-fail rate, at least into the Hero Course.

Further down was a bulleted list of requirements she'd need to complete before the semester started. Which would keep her relatively busy and happily out of the neighborhood.

The last item was a one-time use student ID, just like the one to get in and take the exam, that stated would be replaced on Orientation day with a version that included her picture. A very large text of 'Do Not Misplace' was printed below.

Sliding both the letter and mini-projector back into the envelope she tucked them away amongst the other items she'd slowly squirreled away.

Exiting the building, Shosei pulled the hidden door shut behind her.

She had things to get done.

※※※※※

The first day of school, sort of, as it was orientation day and no actual classes were held, found Shosei changing into her uniform in a train station restroom. She wouldn't be caught dead in her neighborhood wearing a UA school uniform. Mostly because that would be exactly what she'd be. Dead. With no body to worry anyone about.

She'd already disembarked the train at the right station and from there it wasn't a far walk to campus. Exiting the restroom, she pulled her dark purple hair from under her light scarf and up into a ponytail, leaving the couple of neon green-dyed bits that escaped capture free, as she joined the few other UA students leaving the station. The hair-dye probably hadn't been her brightest idea, but at the time she'd liked the biohazard look it'd given by making her seafoam eyes pop.

"Are you new this year?" Some nearby guy asked.

"Yeah," Shosei nodded causing him to smile, seemingly thrilled with her answer.

"You're going to love it at UA! My first year was great." He then proceeded to deluge her with stories in what was an obviously misguided desire to calm nerves that weren't plaguing her.

Surprisingly, it turned out a be a fun conversation. He shared numerous anecdotes of his class adventures; he was also in General Studies, a year ahead of her. He kept her busy as they climbed the hill, and it was a helluva hill, all the way to the school gates – where she half expected them to close on her – and to the three numbered doors.

"Take care of yourself," he called from the middle door, waving. "Enjoy the opening ceremony!"

Shosei plastered on a pleasant smile and waved back to him. Entering the school, she walked through the halls, reporting, as the letter she'd gotten stated, first to her classroom, 1-C.

She wasn't the first, but she also wasn't the last and as she entered a voice called out, pulling all attention to her.

"Hey! It's the genius girl!"

Shosei blinked at the approaching dirty blond-haired boy. She knew that face with his dark eyes and tuft of hair covering the right side of his forehead.

"A- Asano, right?" He grinned widely and Shosei would swear that light briefly shined off him.

"You remember!" Asano's grin turned sheepish and he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I totally forgot your name though, that's why I called you the genius girl. You know, since you said the exam was easy."

"You said it wasn't that difficult yourself."

Looking away, Asano's cheeks turned a light pink and he laughed awkwardly. "Yeah… I was completely embarrassed when you said it wasn't bad, that I just agreed with you. That test was an actual nightmare." There were some agreeing nods that traveled around the classroom.

A throat cleared behind her. "Would you mind moving? I'd like to get through."

"Ah, sorry." Shosei stepped out of the way, giving a small bow. When she looked back up, she discovered the tall figure asking for entry was Shinso, his purple hair just as wild as the last time she'd seen him. "You made it as well," she grinned at him.

"So it appears," he agreed, eying her as he entered the room. "How did you figure it out?" He asked as she followed him further in. The trio drifted towards the back of the room, after they'd checked the seating assignment, to where their desks where located in close proximity.

"The rescue points?" At his nod Shosei continued. "They fully stocked a medical room, also not everyone applying for the Hero Course has ridiculously offensive Quirks or are capable of fighting robots. Plus, isn't heroics all about saving people not just beating the crap out of villains? They'd have to have other means of scoring the test and supply the means to succeed. Though that exam is still horribly skewed to flashy, powerful Quirks and is completely unfair towards any of us that don't blow things up, but I suppose part of being a Hero is catering to the public. This suggests that all of us here are not fun to watch."

It was then Shosei realized she'd been blathering on and stopped to find everyone in the class was staring at her, including the people who'd entered after them at some point.

"Ah, sorry."

"You really _are_ a genius, aren't you?" Asano eyes were round and mouth slightly open.

"Well, no. I don't think so. Logical, maybe. Capable of making intellectual leaps with the provided information. But unlikely a genius."

"Pretty sure that's what a genius is," someone in the room murmured. When Shosei turned and looked over them all, no one immediately popped out as the speaker. It had kind of sounded like a girl, but it had been lowly uttered and between the other conversations going, deducing who spoke was a bit tricky. Though, a girl with long hair standing by a square-jawed boy had a particularly unimpressed look on her face.

She chose to ignore the comment and turned back to Asano. "Oh, to answer your much earlier question, I'm Shigeyo Shosei." She pointing to the purple-haired boy sitting in his seat, next to where they stood. "That's Shinso." Said boy gave her a look at unwanted introduction, but Asano was grinning, and thankfully, not creating odd moments of light.

"It's nice to meet you," he said to Shinso with a small bow. Turning back to Shosei he added, "and you, again. It'll be nice having someone I've already met in class. Is it all right if I call you Sho? Or Yo? Shoyo?"

"Uh," Shosei stammered at the unexpected leap in familiarity. "Sure… Sho is fine… I guess."

"Great! Sho it is!"

"Wow, he sure moves fast." Shosei caught the utterance, lower than the first, but she was pretty sure now it was the girl with the unimpressed look.

Asano either didn't hear or didn't care, Shosei leaned towards the former. He laughed lightly and said. "I could call you two together with Shinsho."

"Please don't," the pair replied in droll unison.

"All right, settle down and take your seats," a metallic voice called out over the din of the classroom. Shosei slid into the seat to the left of Shinso and Asano took the one behind her.

A decently tall masked man slid the door shut behind him as he entered. He was dressed like an American cowboy, a brown hat emblazoned with a large S and a red cloak draped over his shoulders. Each step he took as he strode to the podium chimed, making Shosei think he probably had spurs.

"I'll be your homeroom teacher for the year," he began, assuming a stance behind the podium, "you may all call me by my Pro Hero name, Snipe." Shosei couldn't see his eyes hidden behind his mask, but the shift of his head showed her was looking over the class, all of who were giving him their attention. "Now, we have some time before the opening ceremony starts, we're going to use it for a quick introduction. Give your name and a _concise_ run-down of your Quirk. We'll start with seat one," he gestured to a girl with pinkish-brown hair, and matching cat ears, sitting closest to the door.

She started as all eyes turned to her and after a moment, stood and spoke. "I'm Tokikazu Koneko. My Quirk is called Kitten, I can basically do whatever a cat can." She sat back down and the boy behind her stood with a large smile.

"Fujioka Yoshiharu. Quirk's Upbeat and I can make people feel good… emotionally," he added after a pause.

The introductions continued in such a manner, the Quirks ranging from interesting to seemingly useless. When Shinso stood, his "I can take over a person's mind by asking a question" received an uncomfortable shifting of bodies through the room, despite what was probably a common response Shinso didn't express any displeasure, at least not that Shosei could visually note.

Shosei's turn came around four people later and her summary of "I can give people different microbial diseases" was received with the exchanging wide-eyed looks.

Interestingly, it turned out that Asano's quirk was the one that would break the proverbial camel's back.

"I'm Asano Mitsuaki. My Quirk is Sun and I can emit the same electromagnetic radiation as the sun. To, uh, varying levels." His chair rattled as he sat back down.

"_That explains the flashes of light_," Shosei thought to herself in the silence that followed. "_But that means_ –"

"Dude! Your Quirk is so broken!" Someone burst out, breaking the silence and interrupting the last person to go. "What are you _doing_ in General Studies?"

Asano laughed anxiously. "Well, I didn't pass the practical exam, so –"

"How could you _not_ pass the practical?" Another student called out.

"All right," Snipe-sensei interrupted them. "This isn't an interrogation. Back off the kid." He nodded his head to their row and said to the last boy yet to introduce himself. "If you wouldn't mind wrapping things up?"

His name was Motori Nageki and it turned out he could transform into a dove, specifically a mourning dove. Which to Shosei seemed kind of neat, however Motori's wavering voice sounded like he on the verge of tears.

After the introductions were finally finished, Snipe-sensei directed them to leave their bags in the room and follow him down to where the opening ceremony was to be held. Shosei fell into step by Shinso and they both probably would have travelled in silence had an apprehensive Asano not wedged himself between them, like he was using them as a shield from the rest of the class.

The anxious energy radiating off of him was unpleasant, however. Also, she was just as curious as the rest of the class.

"You don't have to answer, absolutely no pressure, but do you mind if I ask how you failed with a Quirk like yours?"

Asano rubbed at his arm and looked everywhere _but _at another person. "Well, I guess I didn't really fail," his face was turning pink again. "I was kind of disqualified…" his words where barely above a whisper, but still other people heard him.

"Wait, what?" Shinso's face hardened as he almost collided with the dark-haired boy in front of him who stopped walking to look back. Another classmate, Emiru Motomu, tugged his arm to get him walking again. The boy, Ona Kan, Shosei recalled, continued talking over his shoulder. "You attacked another applicant?"

"Uh, well, no," Asano shifted uncomfortably, his cheeks and ears growing redder from the increasing attention. "Not on purpose. I don't have the best control of my Quirk and sometimes when I'm excited or anxious, I emit light unconsciously along with my heat," despite that he was probably super anxious right now, he was currently lightless, "I thought I had lured some of those robots to an empty area. I destroyed the bots with my heat, but I guess there were some people around and I accidently blinded them." He seemed to realized how that sounded and added in a rush, "Temporarily! I was told they were fine!"

"Kind of like looking at the sun for a couple of seconds," Shosei mused.

"Yes! Exactly!"

"I thought if you were disqualified from the exam, you wouldn't make it in to UA?" This was from a girl behind Shosei, Yokiyomu Kana, who'd said she could alter any edible's temperature or taste.

"Why would they?" Shosei countered, "unless it was a deliberate attack, I imagine UA would take the best they can get. Failing only one test in the Hero Course Exam doesn't count you out of getting into UA, at least as long as you applied for General Studies as well. Didn't you wonder why the written tests for the Hero Department and GE Department are held on the same day? They're the same test." She started speaking with acronyms so she could talk faster. "A person who really wants to get into UA is actually better off applying for both departments, should something go poorly in one of the tests it's more likely they'll get dropped into GS over not making it in entirely, so long as they didn't give up during the practical. It's why there are so many in GS who applied for the DoH as well, but didn't make the cut. Essentially what I'm saying is, by aiming high and not giving up when faced with complications, you showed you were willing to work harder. Effort produces results."

It was when she'd finished speaking that Shosei noticed they'd all stopped walking and the class had gathered around her to listen.

"Eeh?" Wahana Fuka, the girl with the almost constant unimpressed look, exclaimed. "Snipe-sensei! Is that true?"

The class turned as one, waiting for his reply. The grin on his face was obvious by his tone. "I wouldn't expect anything less from the top-scoring General Studies student."

"_She_ scored the highest?" Wahana pointed at Shosei.

"The highest the school has seen," Snipe-sensei confirmed.

Shosei could feel all eyes on her. They'd already thought she was a genius because of earlier, but she could feel them reevaluating her denial. Finally, someone broke away, turning back to Snipe.

"But is she right?" Iyuu Enishi, a boy with round glasses and curly black hair, asked.

"Miss Shigeyo isn't wrong," he verified, "an applicant that shows they have the desire and work ethic is considered more highly, UA isn't a school for the lazy. However, as some of you can attest, only applying to the General Studies Department does not mean you won't be accepted. There are a number of factors other than succeeding where another failed, that are carefully contemplated. All of you here have proven yourselves as outstanding and as your teachers, we look forward to aiding your growth." He looked over the students gathered before him. "Now let's get this stagecoach rollin' again, we've got places to be."

A few minutes later, Shosei, arms folded and impatient, was lined up with the rest of the first years, to the left was class 1-D and to her right was 1-B, beyond them, conspicuously empty was the vacant space 1-A should have been. It was also the reason why a few teachers were gathered on the stage before them talking quietly and hadn't started the opening ceremony five minutes ago.

"First day of school," the boy to her right, who looked vaguely familiar to her, hissed under his breath, "and 1-A obviously thinks they're better than us."

"It's certainly irksome, isn't it?" She agreed, reaching up and twisting one of the three gold studs in her left earlobe.

The blond boy turned his irritated blue gaze to her. When he squinted at her, Shosei was struck by how she knew him and found herself wishing she'd kept her mouth shut. He was the kid she'd hit with her exam handout about a month ago. The look on his face said she was looking familiar to him as well.

"Do I know you?" he asked.

"Unless you work at or visit Dex's Chicken Hut as much as I do, I wouldn't see how." He tilted his head up, like staring at her from a different angle would help. She shrugged, dropping her hand from her ear and offered another, more plausible, reason. "Maybe we saw each other on exam day?"

He hummed. "Maybe that's it."

Blessedly, Asano inadvertently intervened before the guy could place her. "Do you really go to the Chicken Hut that much? That's a little worrisome."

Shosei shifted to grin at him over her shoulder. "I'm a fowl person."

Asano snorted, his mouth twisting to keep the laugh in. Behind him, Motori paled and started shaking.

"Relax," she tried, not raising her voice too much, but still making it loud enough for him to hear. "I don't eat… bird-people."

Motori looked up from the ground, his dark eyes were watery.

She and Asano froze, along with the six students from the surrounding classes who'd turned to watch. "_Oh crap, he's going to cry!_"

Luckily, before their fears were realized, a mic on stage went active, calling all attention forward.

"It seems one-A won't be joining us today," the high voice of – Shosei blinked, was that a ferret? In the three-piece suit?

"Oh my gosh," she squeaked, "he's so cute." Behind her Asano laughed.

The short mammal with white fur and a long tail continued to speak. "Good morning students, I'm sure you're wondering what I am. A mouse? A Bear? Or a dog? None of that matters, all that's important is that, I'm the principal! Welcome to UA!"

"_Seriously? He's the principle?_" Shosei had been expecting the school to be somewhat eccentric given the heroes it had produced, but this seemed to be going beyond. "Plus Ultra, I guess," she muttered to herself, rubbing at her cheek with a finger.

The principal, who'd given his name as Nezu, continued to talk. He spoke about the coming school year, how UA worked a bit differently than other schools and what was expected. Telling them he eagerly anticipated great things from this year's students. It was, overall, a pretty normal opening ceremony.

Afterwards, each class had a pair of students from the second-years, who had been assigned earlier in their own homerooms, escort them around in a tour of campus, helping them learn where things where and how to get there. They also aided in the process of the things the first-years had to get done before classes the next day, such as helping with ID cards.

It was a long, and technical, day. One Shosei was glad to see finally end. Though, by lunch Asano had so many club fliers awkwardly stuffed about on his person that he looked like a mutated peacock, he apparently just couldn't say no, Shosei had almost laughed herself sick.

Shinso had been mostly quiet, she figured that like her, he avoided most people for Quirk-based reasons, but Asano acted like glue and kept the three of them stuck together, even during their lunch break, having dragged her around to hunt down Shinso in the large room. She and Shinso could relate together because of their shared Quirk-discriminatory past and the two of them were content to empathize, or whatever, together in silence, but Asano seemed completely unconcerned with the creepy-level of their powers and happily kept cajoling them to talk. Maybe his Quirk somehow unconsciously produced a serotonin response in those nearby? Either way, Shosei, at least, found it refreshing.

As the three of them left school together, passing another group of three, two boys, one with green hair, the other with blue, and a girl with brown hair, Shosei couldn't help but wonder if this was what a true friendship felt like. She also pondered if Shinso's content grin meant he was feeling the same.

※※※※※

The next day was the real first day of classes, Snipe had given them their semester schedule the day before. All departments in UA shared a number of core subject between them, essentially things that any school should be teaching their students. The Hero and General Studies Department, which totaled to five separate classes, were taught by the same teachers in a rotating schedule, and for class 1-C, Monday started off with English, which meant an exuberant Present Mic way too early in the morning.

The day continued much like any other school day Shosei had previously experienced. Though, there were a lot less fights in the hallways than she was used to for a first day, even still she found it hard to completely relax while outside the classroom, half expecting a brawl to break out over 'turf' or 'who had the better Quirk.' Or whatever else adolescents fancied fighting over.

When P.E. rolled around before lunch, the monotony of the day changed at least a little.

Having known it was coming from reading the schedule the day before, Shosei was prepared with a wide-strap tank under her uniform shirt and a bandage roll for her left arm, in order to ward off curious gazes.

"Oh my gosh, Sho," it hadn't taken long for nearly everyone in class to pick up the nickname, "are you hurt?" The girl who asked was Take Mihoko. Her wide gingery-colored eyes matched her hair, and her Quirk, Obstruct, allowed her to make invisible, impenetrable walls in front of her. She'd probably be able to land a nice side-kick career by the end of high school.

At Mihoko's, she insisted on a first-name basis, question, all the other girls' attention turned to the pair. She'd figured the bandage wouldn't remain unquestioned, so Shosei had come prepared with the truth.

"No, no, I'm fine," she waved the other girls off, smiling. "It's just some old scars I don't like flashing." Completely true, she hated seeing them and having other people see them. Let them assume what they'd like about how she got them, but she wouldn't share the story.

Mihoko's eyes softened even more, she seemed to naturally want to care for people like a mother hen. "You know none of us would judge you, right?"

"I would," Wahana injected, unashamed.

Emiru Hitomi, whose dark hair was done up in set of double buns, and who was the twin of Emiru Motomu, laughed. "Yes, well your unrepentant truthfulness is part of your charm," she told Wahana.

Hitomi's Quirk, Private Eye, wasn't what most people would call amazing. Her Quirk was that niggling sensation you got when you thought someone was watching you, only hers wasn't paranoia and she could pinpoint precisely where that person was. Her brother, Quirk name Vigilance, was able to sense any incoming danger along with the direction it was coming from. Together they could scout people with malicious intent aimed at them. They made a good, if somewhat niche, team.

Wahana just shrugged in reply before zipping up her top. Wahana Fuka's Quirk had been dubbed Fragrance and she was able to reproduce any smell she'd previously experienced. While capable of some nausea-inducing scents, she preferred to emit flowery aromas.

When they were all finished, the six girls exited their changing room, the boys leaving their own a few moments after they had passed.

Outside, they found Snipe waiting out on the grounds for them. Shosei was a little surprised seeing their homeroom teacher, but thinking about it, it made sense having a Pro-Hero also as their gym teacher. They'd know how to keep in shape and probably had enough attentiveness to babysit kids while they played basketball or soccer, or whatever the activity of the day was. It also probably saved on the money needed to pay for another teacher to assume the position, and given UA's obsessive need to build fake mini-cities and populate them with robots, they'd need to save wherever they could.

Once the class had formed a two-row semicircle in front of Snipe he began his lecture.

"As you know, UA does things a bit differently than the average high school. I'm sure you're all familiar with physical assessment tests, but unlike any of the schools you've attended, UA does _Quirk_ assessment tests. They are very similar, but in these you'll be using your Quirks to push yourselves, and your scores, farther. In your middle schools you were given enough instruction to control your Quirks and while you may not be part of the Hero Course, who receive combat practice for theirs, you'll still undergo some of the best Quirk training in the country. Even those of you who _don't _think your Quirks can go further, will be pushing them beyond. At this school, you are _all_ expected to go Plus Ultra."

"Oh man, talk about a moral boost," Fujioka smiled widely. "I'm feeling pumped up!" The shuffling and excited conversation confirmed that others felt the same way. It had been a pretty nice speech.

Shosei tilted her head and her grin sharpened into something not quite friendly. "Yeah, too bad this is still a _physical_ assessment. Do any of us here have a Quirk that helps with that?" Her classmates went silent. "That's what I thought."

"Way to ruin the mood, _Fro_yo," a brave soul named Aokai Ibuzo spoke up. Chuckles rippled through the gathered group.

Her sly grin turned sour. "Don't call me that!"

Aokai Ibuzo was the tallest boy in class. He, like many in 1-C, had black hair. His Quirk, Gills, was exactly what it sounded like. He has a set of gills that sealed to near invisibility on land, but allowed him to breath indefinitely underwater. It was a tossup between his and Koneko's Quirk as to which one gave the biggest physical advantage and depended solely on the task. Koneko could probably balance and climb a tree like no one's business, while Aokai could doubtlessly swim a four-hundred-meter freestyle in a ridiculously short time.

"It's a shame swimming the butterfly isn't on the agenda." Aokai's eyes narrowed at her.

"All right," Snipe interrupted, jerking his arm and billowing his cloak over a shoulder. The two froze as his action reveal a gun on his hip. Were teachers at UA allowed _guns_ on campus? Was it real? Was he silently threatening to shoot them if they misbehaved too much? "Stop antagonizing each other. Let's get started."

_He's one to talk! _the whole class thought, staring at the gun.

The first test, a fifty-meter dash, was done in pairs. Shosei was standing amongst the crowd, having finished her sprint in a good time, when the two newly finished Motori Nageki and Tsuka Hanichi – who could divide inorganic objects into smaller versions of itself - joined.

"Hey, Motori," Tsuka started, pulling the taller boy's attention up from the ground. When his watery eyes met Tsuka's, he continued. "How come you didn't just turn into a bird? Wouldn't that be faster than running?"

"The time I'd save running would be spent transforming," he answered in his quiet, weepy voice. "There isn't any point." He dropped his gaze back down, tucking his hands into his pants pockets.

It took a moment for Shosei to realize that she was waiting for Motori to finish speaking. She'd been half expecting for him to add "to life" at the end of his sentence.

During sit-ups she was partnered with Mihoko and while the ginger-haired girl held Shosei's ankles, she asked her a question that had brewed up inside her mind.

"Hey, Mihoko," she said on an up.

"Hm?"

"You said you make walls with you Quirk."

"Yeah?"

"Can you move them?"

"I can angle them a little bit. About a seventy-five-degree slope and if I turn my head, they follow."

"Have you ever made floors?"

"Huh?"

"Put them horizontal instead of vertical. Is that possible?" Shosei felt Mihoko's grip loosen, but she didn't slow, she needed to get in as many as she could.

"You know," her voice was lost in thought, "I've never tried before… My walls can only be in front of me, I never considered that 'in front' could also mean flat."

"Could be handy."

"Yeah!" Her grip tightened back up on Shosei's ankles. "I'll have to try it out! "I wonder how far they could go! They'd only be as wide as my field of view…" Mihoko continued to happily ramble off her thoughts with this new idea while unnoticed by either girl, Snipe, who'd been diligently monitoring the numbers climbing on his tablet, as well as student conversations, had paused when he heard Shosei's suggestion. It was an interesting idea; one he'd have to monitor further. 1-C would have a harder time than the Hero Course kids, but some of them could still climb their way to the top if they put in the effort. Snipe found himself curious just har far some of them were willing to push themselves. There seemed to be some pretty hungry kids in his class this year.

In the third test, Shosei noticed that another student was rising past the others by a significant margin and, according to the holographic projection Snipe displayed for them, had taken the first-place spot from her.

"You've had training, haven't you?" She asked stepping up besides Asano, who was drinking some water after his side-steps.

His cheeks turned a dusky pink. "Oh well, a lot of people expect me to go Pro with my Quirk." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "I've been enrolled in physical and Quirk-training classes since I was young."

"I suppose that's not too surprising."

"Yeah." He shifted slightly. "What about you? You're not doing so bad. That sprint was impressive."

Shosei laughed sheepishly. "I live in a dangerous neighborhood, knowing how and when to run keeps you safe." Asano's mouth opened as he gave her a panicked expression.

"Are you… making a joke?" he finally got out.

She held up three fingers together. "Scout's honor."

"Eh, seriously?"

"Should we be weary of you pulling a switchblade?" Shinso drawled coming up to the pair, sweat dotting his face. He grabbed his own bottled water to drink.

"I'm more of a capsicum and boxcutter girl really."

"Ah, so your standards are pretty low then."

"I'm not the classy type of trash."

"Having just walked into this conversation," Ankoumi Reito, a red-headed boy whose Quirk allowed him to see in any level of darkness, joined the group. "I'd like to ask; what kind of trash is classy?" He twisted the top of his bottle, waiting for a reply.

"Maybe like, year-old designer handbags, vanities, or shiny baubles. You know, things rich people would throw away because they have nothing better to do."

Ankoumi smiled. "'Shiny baubles'? I'm pretty sure that's pirate territory, and they don't consider them trash."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

The following test was the distance run and they all participated in that one together.

Koneko took off like, well, a cat. But just like a cat, which weren't known for their distance running, she slowed back down shortly after and turned to a jog. However, she'd put a fair expanse between her and the rest of the class, which was obviously her plan, but if she was intending for her sprint to help her keep the lead, she was going to be disappointed.

Asano made soft noise of disapproval. "That's not going to help like she thinks," he muttered. Shosei, maintaining a jog beside him nodded in agreement. Though she was half tempted to put a little more speed into her run, she felt like the much taller Aokai was breathing down her neck and that his big feet where going to flat-tire her at any moment.

Soon enough, Asano and she passed by an exhausted Koneko, only really pushing their limits to try to beat the other. Asano, and his longer legs, took first place.

The final tests, other than the toe-touch, were all sexist and anyone taller or with more muscle would easily beat a girl. Shosei secured herself snuggly into third place though, while Asano took first and Aokai, the giant among them, was in second. Spotting Shinso name down at the bottom was a little disheartening. He'd only beat Nageki, who had probably given up on life before the tests even started.

"Don't be too upset, Froyo," Aokai attempted to clap a hand on her shoulder, but she dodged his likely stinging slap. "I'm sure you'll do better next time."

Making a disgusted noise, Shosei spoke, "Please, I'm more of a flexible brain over brawn girl anyway. Brute strength is for people who can't use intellect. But, hey, don't be too upset," she added with a smile at his frown.

"All right, students," Snipe unintentionally interrupted. "I'm impressed by all of you and the extent with how hard you push yourselves. Head on inside and get cleaned up before lunch. Dismissed."

The class did exactly that. Shosei joined up with Asano and Shinso for lunch and the three of them settled in at an unused table. Her katsudon was calling her name. Just as they were all digging in a voice interrupted.

"Hey, hey, hey! I know that face!" A shadow solidified on the tabletop and the three first-years looked up. Standing at the end of the table, holding his own food tray, was the blond proctor of her and Asano's written exam. He was flanked by two other people.

One was a pretty periwinkle-haired girl who was smiling broadly at the three of them and the other was a handsome – maybe? his face was really hard to see – boy with indigo hair who was currently trying to convince the ground, with only his eyes, to swallow him whole.

"To-" Shosei started, but the rest wasn't coming to her, "I forgot, uh," she was about to apologize, but the blond upperclassman burst out laughing.

"That's a good one! To-I-Forgot-A!"

"Mirio, I don't think she was making a joke," the dark-haired boy whispered still not looking up, the girl was giggling, though probably not at the joke.

"It's Togata. Togata Mirio!" He introduced. Shosei supposed she could get the pun she'd accidently made, but it wasn't _that_ funny. "Welcome to UA! It's so exciting to see you made it into the… General Studies?" Togata's enthusiasm died as he finally spotted the three of them pointing at the two gold buttons on their epaulettes. "What?" He gasps, slamming his tray on the table. "How are you in General Studies?" He slid into the free seat next to her. "I heard you did amazing on the exam!"

"Yeah! Yeah! How?" The girl joined in, sliding into the seat next to Asano, who instantly turned pink, and across from Shosei. Their third friend took the seat next to the girl across from Togata.

"Welcome to the 'we-biffed-it-in-the-practical-for-various-reasons' table."

"Oh, man," Togata groaned, rolling his head back. "That stinks!" He straightened quickly. "But don't let it get you guys down! There's still a chance you can get transferred in."

Shosei could practically feel Shinso's focus zero in on Togata. "Really?" He asked, though it almost sounded like a hissed utterance. A glance to him revealed his undisguised interest. What was particularly concerning was the girl across from her was beginning to vibrate in her seat and Shosei began to worry she was about to explode.

"Oh yeah!" Togata didn't seem to noticed Shinso's sudden change. "The Sports Festival is a pretty good place to get noticed by the teachers. Do well enough and they might switch students around. It's happened before!"

The blue-haired girl across the way finally exploded, luckily only with her words. "All right! Enough school talk, Mirio, time for personal stuff! We don't even know each other's names!" Togata laughed, putting up his hands with a murmured 'okay, okay.' Excited blue eyes turned toward them. "You already know Mirio. I'm Hado Nejire!" The other boy began to sink in his seat when everyone looked at him, waiting for his name. At his silence, Hado easily stepped back in. "This is Amajiki Tamaki," she grabbed onto his arm, which Amajiki lamely tried to extract. "He's such a softy."

"Hado," Amajiki moaned weakly.

Releasing the distressed boy, Hado turned her attention fully back to the three first-years. "Now you, now you. Tell me your names. I've got to know, I'm so curious!" With an exchange of looks, conveying who was going first, between the three of them, that's exactly what they did.

From there it was an average conversation one might have with person you were meeting for the first time. How they were liking UA, who their homeroom teacher was, their favorite class so far, favorite teacher, favorite pro hero? Which Shosei wasn't sure how to answer, she'd never put much thought into it, but bluffed her way past by saying it was now Lunch Rush.

"Oh, I know!" Hado exclaimed. "What middle school are you coming from? Anywhere famous?"

Shosei felt herself begin to stiffen before she consciously told herself to relax.

No one had heard of Shinso's Nabu Middle School, but Hado had heard of Asano's Amemaru Middle School.

"That's only a town over from me! Who knew we lived so close!" All eyes turned to her, and in her brief hesitation, Hado spoke again, "Come on, Sho, where? Where?" She had very quickly taken to using her nickname without even knowing that's what it was.

"Well, er," she couldn't bluff her way out of this one and she was against lying outright. "Malakor… Junior High."

Amajiki's chopsticks fell out of his hand and clattered to his tray and she was pretty sure she heard Asano choke on his food. Shosei maintained eye contact with her empty bowl, but she could feel everyone else's boring into her, even Amajiki who hadn't looked directly at anyone the whole time.

"Isn't that the school where at least eighty percent of the graduates have spent time in jail at some point in their lives? Hado asked.

"So I hear," she confirmed, lifting her head back up. She wasn't going to let this get her down.

"You really weren't joking when you said you grew up in a rough neighborhood," Asano whispered, like he was concerned someone would overhear.

"Nope. Pretty sure our school sport was knife fighting and our mascot was Bang-Bang the Gun." Asano's eyes widened.

"_That_ was a joke." His responding chuckle was wheezy and panic-lined, but Togata handled it with a boisterous guffaw.

"All I hear is that just means you're part of the twenty percent who're good!" Togata championed for her. She didn't have the heart to tell him that the twenty percent were just the people smart enough to not get caught.

Before any more questions arose, the school chime sounded, signaling the warning for class. The sound of chairs scraping filled the air, including their own.

"We have to do this again tomorrow!" Hado cheered, waving vigorously at them.

"Sounds like a plan!" Togata happily joined the exuberant waving.

Shosei felt her muscles relaxing even more as they left and she breathed a sigh of relief. Looking up, she found Shinso studying at her like he'd just discovered she had a hidden third limb. "What?"

"Wait 'til they find out what your Quirk is."

"I'm going to strangle you."

That sly, Cheshire grin of Shinso's spread across his face. "Guess you're not part of that twenty percent after all."

* * *

I know, A MILLION (har har) OC's to keep track of a learn their names/Quirks. I tired to introduce all of them, but I felt like it bogged the story down in some places, the other quirk discriptions might show up later... or not, I don't know. But, I'll make it easier for you guys. The order is in which I made them, I obviously didn't create Shinso, but I listed him here as part of the whole class. Here is your Cheat Sheet, it also comes with name meanings if you're into that - I don't speak Japanese, so forgive me if some things don't add up.

Hitoshi Shinso

**Quirk:** Brainwashing - Puts someone in a state where the victim is forced to obey whatever he commands

Shosei Shigeyo (Sho – Small. Sei – Life / Shige – Multiply, raise, increase, augment. Yo – Generation, grow)

**Quirk:** Culture – Upon contact with a microorganism, her body stores and cultures it so she can later disperse it.

Mitsuaki Asano (Mitsu – Light. Aki – Luminous / Asa – Dawn, morning, daybreak. No – Area)

**Quirk:** Sun – He creates varying levels of light and heat (UV light)

Koneko Tokikazu (Koneko - Kitten / Toki – Sharp. Kazu - One)

**Quirk:** Kitten – She can cat. Cat ears, pointed canines, cat eyes (? - currently undecided on this), and retractable claws (? - also currently undecided on this)

Yoshiharu Fujioka (Yoshi – Good, excellent. Haru – Springtime. / Fuji – Wisteria. Oka – Ridge, hill.)

**Quirk: **Upbeat - He can make people feel good/pleasant emotionally

Hanichi Tsuka (Han – Half, part. Ichi – One. / Tsu – Connect. Ka - Add, join.)

**Quirk:** Divide – He can divide inorganic objects into smaller versions of itself and put them back together.**  
**

Mihoko Take (Mi – Beautiful. Ho – To Protect/Safeguard. Ko – Child. / Take – Strong, Firm.)

**Quirk:** Obstruct – Forms an invisible, impenetrable wall in front of her and only within her field of vision. She can move and arrange it, but it will always be in front of her. It can be 'turned off,' but blinking also cancels the effect.

Dai Juuhiro (Dai – Big. / Juu – Heavy, Weighty. Hiro – Great)

**Quirk:** Immovable – Becomes unmovable but not invulnerable

Nageki Motori (Nageku – Grief, lamentation. / Mo – Mourning. Tori - Bird)

**Quirk:** Dove – He transforms into a mourning dove

Motomu Emiru (Motomu – Wound, injury, hurt. / E – Reliant. Miru – Lookout.)

**Quirk:** Vigilance – Can sense incoming danger

Kana Yokiyomu (Ka – Fruit. Na – Vegetables. / Yo – Change. Kiyomu – Cleanse, purify.)

**Quirk: **Alter - Can make food/drink warm, cold, or taste different than what is it. She is also able to purify poison/anything dangerous in food/drink. Will also purge the properties of alcohol

Hitomi Emiru (Hitomi – Pupil of the eye. / E – Reliant. Miru – Lookout.)

**Quirk: **Private Eye** \- **Always knows when she's being watched and can find the watcher as long as they are staring at her

Hokuto Masao (Hoku - North. To - Big Dipper / Masa – Right. O – Man)

**Quirk:** Polaris – Always knows which direction is North

Ibuzo Aokai (Ibu – Breath. Zo – Storehouse. / Ao – Blue. Kai – Ocean.)

**Quirk:** Gills – Can breathe underwater

Kan Ona (Kan – Perfect. / Ona - Together)

**Quirk:** Repair – Can repair anything within a 1x1x1 ft cube, if the damage is larger than the allotted space, it will take multiple activations

Enishi Iyuu (Enishi – Bond, link. / I – To fasten. Yuu – Bind.)

**Quirk:** Stick – Sticks one object to another. The stuck object cannot weigh more than five pounds and can be removed with little force

Reito Ankoumi (Rei – Dark. To – Person. / An – Darkness. Kou – Clear. Mi – To see)

**Quirk: **Darkvision – He can see in the dark, no matter the level of light or lack. However, he is more affected by abrupt shifts in light

Niito Choari (Nii – Fresh. To – Person. / Cho – Great. Ari – Feel.)

**Quirk: **Refresh – He can refresh himself or other people's stamina, however they only feel better and are not revitalized. This runs the risk of serious harm should they continue to 'refresh'

Akeru Jinjou (Akeru – To open/unlock. / Jin – Metal. Jou – A lock.)

**Quirk: **Lockpick – He can fit his fingers into any lock requiring a key and unlock it.

Fuka Wahana (Fu – Emit. Ka – Fragrance. / Wa – Laughing. Hana – Flower.)

**Quirk:** Fragrance – Can recreate any smell she's experienced.

* * *

Congrats at getting to the bottom! In reward have a

Endosymbiosis Side

**During the Written Exam**

"All right!" Togata shouted. "We've got five minutes before the next portion of the exam. Everyone, stand up, we're going to do some stretches to work out those cramps!"

Groans filled the air, but everyone stood up, chairs scraping the floor as they did so.

"Hands up!" He raised his arms high above his head and once everyone had followed his actions he spoke again. "And," he drew out the word, "up, down, touch the ground. It puts me in the mood." Togata stretched up and down in time with his words. "Up, down, touch the ground. It puts me in the mood," he smacked his lips loudly, "for food!"

_"He's completely insane,"_ everyone in the class thought at the same time, none of them having followed his actions.

"Come on guys! This is fun!"


	3. Do Your Best!

Welcome back! Thank you to all who favorited and alerted, and to my reviewer. Love you all! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm still having fun writing this, but as I've done more Shosei (and my ideas) have grown and begun to form into a possible plot? I've been dropping hints, but I think this time, if you haven't yet figured it out, is pretty clear just who her 'family' is. Maybe? At the end I included another short I wrote, this one involving... well I won't spoil it... ;D Let me know what you think! I love hearing from you! What's your favorite things so far?

* * *

Endosymbiosis

Do your Best!

※

"In homeroom today we will be choosing the class president," Snipe intoned from his podium.

_"Ugh, responsibility_._"_ Shosei continued to doodle what was definitely starting to look like the principle in a tutu in the margin of her notebook. _"No thanks."_

Getting into the school today had been more difficult than usual, with even more reporters showing up to harass any student sporting the Hero Department epaulette. As if the increase in numbers would make it more likely to achieve an interview. They'd clogged the main gate, interrogating some poor blond kid who been unfortunate enough to have All Might as a teacher.

When she'd tried to squeeze past the cameramen and photographers, they'd tightened their group formation and practically shoved her back, as if she was some intruding reporter they wanted to expel. She'd been contemplating the pros to giving some of them a bad case of the runs just so she could get inside.

_"A little salmonella, they'd never even know it was me."_

But as her fingers itched to pull on her Quirk, some burly upperclassman, sporting a black pompadour and a chin that could crush rocks, bulldozed his way through without a care in the world. Maybe she'd found the unstoppable force to Juuhiro's unmovable object.

A smaller girl that seemed to be his friend trailed closely behind and Shosei took advantage, following quickly in his wake of tumbling journalists. The blond boy used the disturbance to beat a retreat into the safety of school grounds as well.

When she'd passed the human bulldozer by, he'd given her a firm nod, to which she returned him one of thanks.

Those reporters were getting ridiculous. How many needed to show up before the school chased them off?

"Now, let's keep this whole thing civil, those who wish to volunteer themselves for the position, raise your hands. From there, we'll hold a vote, runner up will take the position of VP. Are we in agreement?" Shosei was yawning at the time, but most of the class nodded along. "Now, who's willin' to step up?"

A few hands went up. The Emiru twins, Fujioka, Mihoko, Yokiyomu, Masao – which Shosei found a little funny, after all, why wouldn't you follow the guy who, literally, could never get lost – and Ona – who could repair any damage within a one-foot cube, which from what she understood, followed some strange laws he was still trying to figure out. Organically, he could heal a broken bone, but it didn't work on cuts, while inorganically he could fix a cracked vase, but the same vase couldn't be fixed if it was shattered.

As Snipe-sensei was writing down Ona's name on the blackboard, having not heard a certain person shuffle in any way, Shosei raised her own arm.

"And Miss Shigeyo," Snipe said, turning back to the board when he'd seen her hand up.

"Actually, Snipe-sensei," the pro hero paused, "I was wondering if I could nominate someone?" Shosei kept her grin from growing as she heard the shuffles ripple through the room, in particular, Shinso, who was giving her a 'don't you dare' look.

"Very well," Snipe agreed after a moment's contemplation. "I don't see why not."

"I'd like to put forward Asano Mitsuaki." Said boy made a strangled noise behind her.

"What? Why?"

Shosei spun her chair around enough to look at him, but it also allowed her to see most of the class was watching her as well. Swivel chairs were the best.

"You said you wanted to go pro, wouldn't this be a good chance to show the world you can be a good leader, or whatever?" She flipped her hand back and forth a bit. "Plus, in three days, you're already on friendly terms with the whole class, you know everyone's name and can keep them, and their Quirks, straight. I still confuse the twin's names and they don't even look alike."

"You really think my name's Hitomi?" The male Emiru twin asked skeptically. Shosei didn't bother answering that, she knew his name was Motomu, but she had a point to make.

"Personally, I'd feel pretty comfortable approaching you with any problem I have." Which was true, she would, at least with school related issues. He'd proven himself as accepting and open to each and every person. "But if you really don't want to," Shosei put her hands up in a shrug, "then I will withdraw my recommendation."

Asano who's been staring at her, lips slightly parted and cheeks pink, sighed at her conclusion, shoulders slumping. "Fine, sign me up."

Snipe nodded and began writing his name on the board. As Shosei swirled her chair back into place, Shinso caught her eye and raised an eyebrow at her. She just flashed him a grin and sent a wink his way. His returning narrowed eyes said he had words for her later.

Voting took place anonymously by writing down a name and placing it in a sack – which looked suspiciously like a horse's feedbag – that Snipe had passed around. Whether her little explanation had influenced anyone else or not, once Snipe was done tallying, Asano came out on top with six votes. Given the noise he made, he was surprised by this outcome. Following closely behind him with five, and taking the place of vice president, came Take Mihoko. The remaining votes were split relatively evenly between the rest.

Moments after everything was settled, Cementoss strolled in to begin their modern lit class. Greeting them with a cheerful smile.

When lunch finally rolled around a few hours, and classes, later, Asano and Mihoko were held back to handle some class rep things. It was then, in the hallways to the cafeteria, that Shinso finally had a moment to privately speak with her.

"Why did you do that? You know he wouldn't say no after what you said." She grinned at her taller companion. Shinso was intelligent, school-wise, yes, but also socially. In the few days she'd known him, she'd noticed he was quick to catch on to people's natures and how they would likely react in a situation. It made sense, given his Quirk and the parameters for its use.

Shinso had figured out, just like her, that Asano, almost literally, could not say no. It was even harder for him to resist well-worded and thought-out reasoning. He folded under peer pressure like a cheap card table and it was Shosei's intention to help him overcome that.

"Which is exactly why I did it," she told her companion. "He needs to learn to say no. Get some confidence in himself. I'm thinking a little leadership will benefit him. Learn he can take charge of a situation."

Once more, Shosei found Shinso watching her with that studious look.

"You're rather inconsistent," he finally stated after a moment.

"I live in the moment," she shrugged. It was true, she preferred thinking in the 'now,' her future and past weren't things she wanted to dwell on. It tended to lead her to be flighty, as she did what she wanted, consequences to her be damned.

"But you have a strong sense of compassion." Her footsteps faltered. "What I can't decide on is why you try to hide it."

Shosei turned her gaze away, watching instead a few birds as they darted and chased each other about. No answer she had was one she wished to give. She had her reasons, good reasons in her opinion, but they weren't pleasant and she had no desire to share. However, no response _was_ a response. She knew that and so did Shinso, who returned his eyes to the hallway before them as they continued to the cafeteria.

As they finally reached the machine the students ordered food from, Shosei slid her ID card and punched her drink and food selection. Then, as she stepped aside for Shinso, said like it was an afterthought, "Should we get something for Asano?" Shinso looked at her as he finished punching in his order. "Who knows when he'll finish his rep stuff and this will save him the time it takes to get it. We can go halfsies."

"Sure," the boy finally agreed, scanning the machine front and its selections of food Lunch Rush had prepared for the day. "He's gotten the chicken curry before, right?"

"With white rice? Think so." Shinso nodded and swiped his card again, pushing the button for the curry then followed her inside to the food dispensary area. The drink machine whirred and whirled turning a little doorway, with her name flashing on a tiny display, to face her. The door slid open revealing her water.

The whole place was a rather clever and pretty quick way to feed a few hundred students. There were four aisles for food, kind of like a buffet, except the majority of the place was run autonomously by machines – UA really was obsessed with robotics – and, so far, Shosei had never seen another person other than Lunch Rush inside, who seemed to wander around monitoring the whole place and sometimes distributing the entrées. Time was also saved by the fact that you didn't actually have to 'buy' your food, select, sure, but the cost was all covered by the tuition you paid. The card swiping was partially to track what was eaten and favored by students, but also kept Lunch Rush from serving peanuts to somebody who was allergic. Part of the paperwork before the schoolyear started had been for declaring allergies, medical conditions, or anything else the school needed to know to prevent you from keeling over and dying in their hallways.

Shosei was one such person.

Any drink she ordered had sugar mixed into it, even already sugary drinks. Ever have something full of sugar while sick and then felt so much worse? The reason for that is simple.

Bacteria and viruses _love_ sugar.

They need it for reproducing and growing. Even without using her Quirk, Shosei needed sugar to supply them and herself with energy, because she was, at all times, actively providing energy to other organisms inside her, she required larger amounts than the average person. Her Quirk didn't need sugar to work, it could, and would, take energy from anywhere, but sixteen packets of glucose in her drink was an efficient way to maintain her levels. If she went too long without it, she'd crash, hard. Hypoglycemia at nightmare levels.

It was kind of like having diabetes, at least in the sense that she needed to watch and regulate her sugar levels. Her body's insulin worked just fine.

"Two lunches today?" Lunch Rush asked as the pair entered the area where he was dishing out food.

"We're getting some for our friend," Shosei smiled kindly. "He was voted in as class pres and is doing things for that. We thought we'd help him out."

"I see. In that case," as if Lunch Rush had been prepared for that very explanation, he whipped out a cloche. "A special warming cloche to keep his food at a proper temperature until he arrives!" He set it over Asano's curry and then settled it on the tray, which he then presented to them.

Hip-checking Shinso to the side, who grunted at the sudden impact, Shosei took his place. "I'll grab this if you get the drink." Shinso had already been carrying the drink, but the offer sounded a little less demanding and she figured this way she'd save him the awkward struggle of two trays, Shosei, at least, had practice. She lifted her tray up on one hand and took the other from Lunch Rush, balancing it on her left hand. Like she'd done it a million times, she walked away with both trays settled and stable, and made her way towards their usual table. Which, for some reason or other, no one else seemed to ever sit at other than them.

Shinso studied her as they made their way out of the kitchen area. "You work part time as a waitress or something?"

"No," Shosei smiled, "my uncle used to make me practice carrying trays." She took on a mock serious look. "'A lady should be capable of carrying a tea-laden tray on her head without displacing a single drop.'" She quoted it like it was a quote. It wasn't. Her uncle had never actually worded it like that.

The taller boy raised an eyebrow at her. "Seriously?"

"Well," she shrugged slightly, which wobbled the trays a bit, "he never made me do _that_, but I did help serve tea whenever he hosted guests over, and while that may have only been one tray, I did get a lot of practice with balance and keeping the china from clattering." With a small sigh she added, "My extended family is a little… traditional."

"Ah," Shinso smirked, "you've had 'proper lady training.' No wonder you enjoy knife fighting and your other little rebellious acts." He deliberately eyed her thrice-pierced ear and green streak in her hair.

Shosei clicked her tongue. "I'm never going to live that down."

"Never," he agreed, setting his tray on the table when they arrived and taking the other from her as she'd been carefully setting down the first. "Did you have to wear a kimono?"

Sitting down in her chair, she sniffed, but admitted, "Only for formal occasions." Her answer seemed to please him for some odd reason.

"I actually find it hard to picture you all dressed up like that." He sat in what was becoming his usual place on her left.

"Good, 'cause you're never gonna see it." Having to wear skirts at school was bad enough. Shosei found herself regularly brushing at the hem, she was used to knee-length at her old school, so she'd taken to wearing hotpants underneath to settle her worry of accidently flashing things she shouldn't.

A few moments later, before either of them started up another conversation, the three third-years joined them.

"Afternoon," Togata said, placing his try down beside her and taking the chair to her right.

"Hey you two!" Hado greeted merrily, settling in across from Shosei. Amajiki made a sound as he settled in across from his blond friend, but Shosei wasn't sure if it was one of greeting or distress. "Where's your other friend?" The older girl asked, looking at the cloche-covered food.

"He got voted in as class president, so he's off doing rep stuff." She looked up to Shinso. "Speaking of, we should probably text him. Let him know we got him food."

"Is that your way of asking me to text him?" He asked, but started pulling out his phone anyway.

"No, I can text him if you really don't want to."

"It's fine," his thumbs were already darting across his screen. Seconds later he was redepositing his phone into his jacket pocket and picking up his chopsticks. "He probably won't be much longer."

"Have you two decided on what clubs you want to see tomorrow?" Togata asked sociably, then took a bite of his food.

Shinso hummed vaguely, having just put food in his mouth. "Oh yeah," Shosei said, "club tours are tomorrow." The school, to help their first-years decide which club to join, allowed them a day after school to go around visiting clubs they were interested in, seeing how they were run, meeting other members, and such. "I'm not sure, which ones are you in?"

Togata blinked in surprise. "I suppose you two wouldn't know. We're in the Hero Course so –"

"We're not required to join a club!" Hado interrupted with a giggle.

"Really?"

Nodding, Togata spoke again. "Since we have an extra period compared to the other departments and once in second-year we can start doing work studies, we're usually a lot busier than the rest of the school."

"The times for clubs and our schedules usually don't work out. It's so sad." Hado added.

"Meaning, Hero Course students are exempt from having to join. Not to say we couldn't. We just don't have to."

"The one good thing," Amajiki moaned sullenly. Shosei was pretty sure he meant it, but honestly, his tone was kind of misleading.

At that moment Asano showed up, stopping Shosei from asking another question. He dropped in his seat, saying, "Hey, guys, thanks for the food."

He turned pink as Hado bounced up in her seat, leaning forward on the table. "Now, answer our question! Come on! Inquiring minds wanna know!"

There were a few seconds of silence and the three first-years, two who knew the question and the other who was confused, waited for someone else to speak. Sighing, Shosei, figuratively, stepped up.

"Well, I didn't see any kind of bladed combat on the club list, so I think I'm gonna skip signing up for a club and, for experimental reasons, see how long it takes the school to crack down on me." She was actually curious how quickly the school would respond. Beside her, Shinso rolled his eyes.

"You'll never live it down, if you keep going for the same gag," he mumbled dryly.

She laughed lightly, leaning back in her chair with a shrug. "I might check out some of the instrumental clubs," Shosei confessed. "I like music, so it might be interesting."

"Do you play an instrument? Which one?" Hado's eyes were wide with excitement.

"I've banged around with the drums." Togata laughed at the horrible pun.

A glint entered Shinso's eyes and his voice was laced with amusement as he asked, "Did you have to learn the shamisen during your proper-lady lessons?" His question caught everyone's attention and all eyes turned to her.

"'Proper lady lessons?" Hado parroted, tilting her head.

Ignoring an explanation, Shosei looked at Shinso for a moment, contemplating, before deciding that, 'sure, it probably wouldn't hurt to share.'

"Yes," she finally admitted in a slight hiss. "Though when I was eight, I found out they were made out of cats. I cried and refused to touch one ever again, even after I found out that practice had stopped a long time ago."

The look of surprise that crossed Shinso's faced revealed that he hadn't expected her to say something like that. Which was fair, she was pretty tight-fisted with sincere, non-offhanded details about herself. The real personal specifics of her life she didn't like sharing.

Suddenly, arms wrapped around her neck and her head was pressed into a very soft chest.

"Ooh, Sho," Hado's elongated cry came from above, having quickly darted over to her side, forcing Togata to dodge her incoming rush attack, and enveloped her in a hug. "That's so sad. But also, cute." A hand stroked her hair.

"Um," Shosei got out, trying to look away from where her face had been pressed. All she caught sight of was the tomato-red face of Asano staring at his food.

Blaring alarms rang out and Hado's grip briefly tightened before releasing her entirely. "What the hell is that? A fire alarm?" Shosei asked as an automated voice began giving instructions. Throughout the room chairs scraped and trays crashed as people began rushing for one of the two exits from the cafeteria. Shosei was loathe to join in with the riotous crowd, but the announcement had said to evacuate. "Should we join them?"

The wide grin that had dominated Togata's face vanished as the atmosphere shifted. He was abruptly all business. "No, they're practically a mob, it isn't safe." Togata turned to his female classmate. "Hado, you and I should go to the north door and calm the people down before doing the same at the other." The girl nodded firmly with a 'right!' as Togata turned to Amajiki. "Tamaki, will you take these three into Lunch Rush's kitchen? Pick up any stragglers you see on the way."

Amajiki hunched his shoulders, but still nodded. "Yeah, all right."

"The kitchen?" Asano asked.

"It's a safe zone," Togata explained quickly, "if something bad happens. Lunch Rush is a pro too, you know." With a look exchanged between him and his dark-haired friend, whose back straightened, Togata and Hado took off and Amajiki started to corral them.

"Come on, this way. Let's go." Amajiki ushered them towards the kitchen. It was the first time Shosei had heard the older student's voice sound so firm without hint of waver or stutter. "Keep going," he commanded, breaking off from them as she spotted another young student hiding under a table.

Shosei had full intentions of following his order, but paused as she noticed one of the decorative bushes separating tables, shaking.

Which was weird, in case anyone was wondering.

With a glance to Amajiki, who was coaxing the small girl out from under the table, Shosei went over to investigate. Grabbing a branch, she pulled it aside to reveal a shivering bird, head tucked into its feathers. It wasn't just any bird though, it was a dove, specifically a mourning dove.

There was only one reason she could think such a bird was inside UA's cafeteria.

"Nageki." The name came out as a whisper, but the bird still looked up at her. His small watery black eyes meeting hers.

The sight gripped something in her chest and plucked.

When she'd been young, she'd tried bringing back injured animals she'd found. Shosei had always had a soft spot for small creatures. But every time her cousin had caught her trying to smuggle the critters in. It'd only taken three times of watching them meet an untimely and gruesome fate that she stopped. Partly because he'd kept telling her to cut it out, but also because she hoped that by leaving them someone else would step up and take care of them. She'd only bring them to death. It hurt every time she'd passed them by.

The only occasion she couldn't pass by and broke her self-imposed rule was a number of years later when she'd found a man caught in the pouring rain. He'd been barely conscious, body feverish as it caved to infection, and bleeding sluggishly in one of the back alleys she favored. She'd been older, wiser, more street savvy, and jaded, plus, her cousin didn't watch for her as often anymore. Shosei could convince herself to turn a blind eye to animals, but she found out that day she couldn't do that to a person, despite her cousin's best efforts to kill her compassion.

"Shigeyo," Amajiki's voice cut through her thoughts and she looked up at him. He waved her to come with him. She looked back to Nageki-the-bird and scooped him up with an apology. Holding him with both hands and pressing him to her sternum, she jogged over to Amajiki, who glanced at the bird briefly, but didn't question her acquisition. The taller student followed behind once she passed him and the pair entered Lunch Rush's kitchen, where the pro-hero gestured them further inside.

"Miss Shigeyo, behind the preparation counter, if you please. Mister Amajiki, if you don't mind taking a secondary defense position." Shosei, following instructions, moved behind the long row of serving stations to the metal counter, which Asano was currently waving at her from, and ducked behind it, settling her back against the reflective steel.

The addition Amajiki had picked up was at the far end next to Shinso. Her classmate spared her a look before resting his head against the counter again. Asano, next to her, stared briefly at bird-form-Nageki, but seemed to figured out why she had a bird cupped in her hands. "Good?"

She nodded in response and shifted. Rolling her body to the right, Shosei peered around the edge of the counter, watching as Lunch Rush pulled out the world's most intimidating butcher's knife and then the world's largest ladle, he then took up position near the front. Amajiki, further back, flipped some switches at a panel, causing metal shutters to close the majority of the entrances into the kitchen.

"Miss Shigeyo," Lunch Rush's tinny voice commanded, "please return to a fully covered position."

_Did he have eyes in the back of his head?_

Not wanting to be on the wrong end of that giant ladle, she did so, pressing her back to the cool metal once more.

Idly, she began stroking the still shivering Nageki, running her fingers across his feathers.

It felt like an hour, but was likely closer to ten minutes before an all clear signal was given. Overhead, came the announcement for all students to report to their homerooms. The defensive shutters were raised and Lunch Rush escorted the five, six counting the bird, students from the cafeteria, where they parted from the pro with a, "Don't dawdle go straight to your classrooms."

Shortly after Amajiki left for the third-year area, the four younger students thanking him before he went turned him into the flustered mess that was his usual self. In the first-year wing, the other girl broke away, thanking them for whatever reason, to go into her section of the school. Apparently, she was part of the management department. As they neared their classroom, Shosei suddenly remembered she was still holding Nageki.

"Uh, just a second," she murmured, turning away from her two friends.

"Ah, wait, Sho," Asano called after her, but she headed back the way she came, coming to a stop before a restroom door.

"I'll just, um, give you some privacy, or, um…" she trailed off, pushing the door open and putting her hand, which Nageki sat on, through the opening. With a flutter of wings and passing air, Nageki-the-bird flapped further into the bathroom. She let the door close and headed back towards her classroom door. Asano and Shinso were both waiting for her. At Asano's questioning look she shrugged. "I dunno. I figured he'd want some privacy to change or whatever. I don't know how shapeshifting works. If he doesn't come back, maybe one of you should check on him." Asano nodded, but Shinso grinned. "Shut up," Shosei hissed as she passed him into 1-C.

The three of them had finished settling into their chairs when Nageki, now human, slid into the classroom, avoiding everyone's eyes – not that that was unusual – and sat in his own chair. Following right behind him as he came through the door was Snipe-sensei, who took post at his podium.

He then explained what had happened. That the reporters had somehow managed to get past UA's barrier and had trespassed onto the grounds, triggering the alarms. UA had called the police and had them escort the press from campus. The stern 'talking to' as Snipe put it, made it likely they wouldn't be clogging the gates again anytime soon. Snipe then informed them to reframe from talking to any journalists that tried to interview then, off campus or otherwise, telling them that doing so would likely only encourage them to further harass UA students. Shosei was pretty sure that none of the reporters had even tried to talk to them as they weren't All Might's hero students, but even so, it was sound advice.

Snipe then apologized for the disruption and scare that had been caused, but explained the rest of the day would continue as scheduled.

Which it did.

None of them were expecting what happened the next day.

※※※※※

The day started normally enough. Shosei stole out of her neighborhood like a thief, she didn't usually need to avoid the other kids in her age range as they weren't often up at that time, but she didn't want to disturb her foster siblings and one never knew which yakuza members might be out and about, though most of them were used to her lurking. A side effect of being Dei's foster sister and spending too much time with him, they said. Though, she was the more friendly and charismatic of the pair.

To be on the safe side, Shosei made her way to the further of the train stations in town. She had an hour ride to the Musutafu station closest to the school, where she changed into her school uniform in the restroom before making her way up to the campus itself.

Classes went on as they typically had the past few days, though math with Ectoplasm was thoroughly enjoyable. Shosei always found hard sciences and the strict rules they held to as pleasant. They required little thinking and couldn't surprise you if you could remember the proper equation. The frustrated sounds that sometimes came out of her classmates was merely sweet excess.

She did find out that Nageki, she'd apparently taken to calling him by his first name in her head ever since she'd seen him as an adorable bird, wouldn't meet her eyes. Not that he often met her, or anyone's, eyes, but it seemed particularly noticeable as he didn't even look in her general direction.

"I'm pretty sure he's embarrassed," Shinso told her on their way to lunch after she had mentioned how quickly Nageki had beat it from the classroom.

"Just because I saw him as a bird? I don't see what's to be embarrassed about."

Asano snorted softly. "Pretty sure that's not the reason." Shosei looked over to her sandy-haired friend. "You're a girl," he iterated, "and you had him solidly pressed into your bosom for a good ten minutes."

"Bosom?"

"Is there something wrong with my word choice?"

"No. I was just wondering when we fell into the first century. No one says bosom anymore."

"Bosom is still a word people use!" Asano flushed.

"Can we stop shouting about bosoms in the cafeteria?" Despite his chastisement, Shinso eyes glittered his amusement. "People might get the wrong idea about us."

"Are we embarrassing you Shinso?" Asano ribbed. "Don't want to be seen around us anymore?"

"Not embarrassing _me_, no. But I'd rather not people think I associate with idiots."

"Day late and a yen short for that, pal."

"More than a day at this point," the blond boy appended Shosei's statement.

"I'll never be rid of you two, will I?" Shinso lamented.

"Not even in death." The boy sighed at her words.

"Great."

"Hey, hey! Over here, guys!" Hado called, waving at the threesome like they weren't already on the way. "Over here!"

"Howdy," Togata greeted as the first-years all sat in their usual places, chorusing their own hellos. "Man, yesterday was crazy, huh? Sorry we couldn't check on you after. I'm glad you guys are all okay." Shosei wasn't sure why he'd be worried, it hadn't been particularly dangerous, but she supposed that's was the difference between her and the hero classes. She nodded anyway at his words and finished chewing.

"It's all right. Amajiki was a pro at corralling all us small-fries." The so named boy's face twisted like she'd physically assaulted him.

"Yeah!" Asano chimed in. "He had the whole thing under control. You should have seen the way he handled everything!" At each word, Amajiki sank lower in his chair, but Togata's smile only widened.

"Please, stop," Amajiki groaned. "Your words… are too much… I can't…" Hado giggled gleefully, clapping her hands together a few times.

"Well done, Amajiki!" With a gasp, she slammed her hands on the table and shot her chair back as she stood. Everyone else quickly stabilized their drinks as they teetered from the sudden table-quake. "Back soon!" she called, darting off towards Lunch Rush's kitchen.

"Is she… okay?" Asano asked, watching Hado's long blue hair disappear around the plant divider.

"She's fine," Togata grinned.

Something about his response tickled at Shosei. It felt like he was, not quite lying, but… hiding something? Shosei watched him a few moments longer, but he revealed nothing else. His fine poker face was set and he returned to his food, still grinning as he chewed.

The four of them, Amajiki didn't often join in, continued to converse lightly between bites of food. It was the growing gasps and exclamations that caught Shosei's attention. As the sounds grew closer, Asano and Shinso both perked up, looking for what was causing the commotion.

"Surprise!" cried Hado, lunging around the divider and thrusting the largest, and most colorful, ice cream sundae any of them had ever seen onto the table. There was enough ice cream arrayed in the giant banana split dish to feed a small army. A little pennant with #1 shared the place at the top of the whipped cream pile with a cherry. She slid large dish down the table, Asano and Shinso had to swiftly rescue their food trays, stopping it before Shosei, who stared at it in bewilderment. "I wanted to have sparklers on top too, but UA frowns on unsupervised use of fireworks indoors." Hado moped as she sat in her seat across from her.

Did that mean UA would _approve_ of supervised fireworks indoors?

That implication was… unpleasant.

"Um, it's not my birthday." That wasn't for another month.

"I know that silly! Well, I don't, but I figured the odds were good it wasn't. No, this is in celebration of your first rescue!"

"Congratulations!" Hado and Togata cried out together. The blond next to her threw some confetti over her head.

"Huh?" she asked, the paper peppering and catching in her hair.

"We heard from Tamaki that you rescued a student yesterday!" Shosei glanced at the dark-haired boy, he, unsurprisingly, didn't look at her. "The bird was a student, right?" Togata asked, doubt growing at Shosei's lack of response.

"Yes, Motori's in our class," Asano contributed.

"There you have it then!" Togata instantly brightened.

"Congratulations!" He and Hado shouted again. More confetti joined the first batch. Shosei supposed she shouldn't ruin the moment by saying the flag should, technically speaking, have a '#2' if they were counting rescues.

"I don't think he really needed any rescuing. Turns out, he would have been perfectly fine."

"Maybe so, but you didn't know that at the time. You noticed someone in need and aided them, so…"

"Congratulations!" The pair once again shouted. A third handful of confetti was so exuberantly tossed into the air that Shinso had to swat some away from himself.

"How much of that do you have in your pockets?" She was going to be picking it out of her hair the whole day. Togata's only response was to laugh, which wasn't very reassuring.

"Don't worry," Hado laughed, "I talked him out of the glitter."

"Thank you," Shosei told her with full sincerity.

"Now, come on! Have some ice cream, the first bite is for you!" Hado produced six spoons, handing the first to Shosei before disseminating the rest.

Sadly, it wasn't as simple as just digging her spoon in. Maybe some of the scoops were chocolate or strawberry, but there was a veritable rainbow of many shades in the bowl. There was red, dark plum, purple, pink, dark cerulean, robin-egg blue, even a concern-inducing neon green that matched her hair dye.

Shosei moved her drink to the right so she wouldn't bump it as she leaned forward, spoon hovering with indecision.

Screw it, she went for the green. Taking a hefty amount and shoving it in her mouth. A familiar and tasty tang spread over her tongue.

Hado squealed, clapping and bouncing in her seat. "What flavor is it? I'm so curious." Everyone else watched expectantly.

"Kiwi," she said after swallowing.

With a cheer worthy of being a battle cry, Hado dug into the ice cream herself. Gesturing, Shosei invited the others to join in as well. They all happily began devouring the dessert.

Something, a light, bubbly feeling expanded in Shosei's chest. She'd thought she'd been happy before, but in this moment, she wanted nothing more than for this to continue, everyone, even the debilitatingly shy Amajiki was smiling, as they enjoyed themselves and each other. Laughing at the conversation being passed about. Shosei felt like she'd finally found what had been missing inside of her and for this moment, she could forget everything else that was, and could go, wrong.

Another darker feeling snaked its way through at that thought. Guilt. She felt bad knowing that one day this would end. Shosei reached up and rubbed just below her right collarbone.

A clatter and cry caught her attention. "Ah! I'm sorry Shigeyo!" Togata gasped. He had, it seemed, knocked over her glass of sugar water as he'd reached for another spoonful of ice cream. It was now on its side, rolling and spreading the puddle of water over the table.

Rapidly, napkin dispensers were emptied. Their contents passed, and tossed, to stop the spread of water. Hado's nose wrinkled as she sniffed the air, then proceeded to lift her hand from the napkins she'd been pressing into the spill and sniff that too.

"What were you drinking?" the older girl asked looking up to her younger friend.

"Oh, uh, it's sugar water." Hado's brow furrowed with confusion, but before she could ask why, Shosei continued. "It's, uh, for my quirk. My quirk has activated and passive abilities, so even while not using it I need more sugar than average to, uh, well, live, I believe would be the correct term. If I don't have enough, we're talking coma followed by death."

The table went silent, the sounds of the cafeteria passing around them. Shinso and Asano both knew her quirk since introductions on the first day, but the other three did not. "Can we ask what your quirk is?" Togata finally broke their quiet bubble.

Shosei shrugged. "It's called Culture. When I encounter a new bacterium or virus, my body stores it. I can then pass it on, should I choose to do so, through contact. It's like having a few… million pets that I need to feed. Only these pets will eat me if I don't feed them."

"There isn't anything you could do about that?" Asano asked, eyes wide.

"I've never tried," Shosei hefted her shoulders again, "but I _think_ I could flush the system, so to speak. But that's something I'd only want to do as a last-minute desperate I-am-entering-a-coma action, 'cause if I did –"

"You'd have to start your collection over again," Shinso concluded to which Shosei nodded.

"And it isn't as easy… well, it is, microorganisms are _literally_ everywhere, maybe I should say it isn't as enjoyable as it might sound. I know this is a bit counterintuitive, but I am actually _more_ likely to get sick. I mean, sure I'll never suffer the flu or E. coli ever again, but my body, unlike yours, doesn't fight off a bacteria or viruses. It just… welcomes it into the fold, I guess, but only after I get sick and suffer severe side effects first. On the positive side, I also carry around all the countering antibodies and cures."

"Oh, wow," Hado whispered in wonder.

"That's kinda…" Togata started, "well, scary, since your quirk can hurt you. But pretty neat in the long run."

"Yeah!" Hado chimed in. "You could totally be a doctor, travelling the world and curing people!"

Shosei grinned at the other girl. _"That'd be nice,"_ she thought.

"If it helps, I can relate," Togata started, "if my quirk goes wrong, it can tear parts of me off!" He laughed at the slightly appalled looks he was receiving from the first-years. "For clarification, I can pass through things. It's called Permeation."

"That sounds… horrible." Shosei then added. "Yeah, no, I'll pass." Togata laughed again.

"My turn, my turn!" Hado interjected.

From there the whole group shared their quirks. Each group finding the other's equally impressive. Shosei was sure Shinso was feeling the same as she, as not once was anything even remotely judge-y said about their quirks. When Asano asked if she'd need more of her sugar water, Shosei explained that the ice cream more than made up for it and that it wasn't like she'd keel over immediately, it'd take a day or two of no sugar intake to affect her.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable lunch.

Next period, however, was where things got really stirred up.

Class C was in art period. Their assignment was to draw the arrangement of random items placed in the center of their drawing circle in whatever way they liked. They had ten minutes to draw before they would share and then do another session of drawing and sharing. Their teacher had said it was an exercise meant to help the class get to know, and be more comfortable around, each other. Which was working, the whole class was in a good mood, laughing at each other's terrible drawings. Well, most of them were terrible, Yokiyomu, Iyuu, and even Shinso, proved to have more talent than the rest of them.

They were in the middle of one such session when the alarms began blaring. Telling students to immediately evacuate to a secured zone. As their room wasn't designated as such, Bunko-sensei quickly corralled them all together, the students grabbing their bags, and escorted them from the room. They took a few hallways and turns before they were sent inside another room, joining a class of students already there.

Bunko-sensei joined them after a rapid, and hushed, conversation with a tall grey-haired man in red, who left very quickly. Once their art teacher was inside, the windows looking into the hallway shuttered with metal blinds and the doors were both shut and locked, though the metal protector for the front door was only lowered halfway.

Whispered conversations started swiftly between classmates. Shosei catching phrases like, "Is this one a drill?", "What's happened this time?", "Should we be worried?", "Did the press sneak in again?", and other speculations.

"Please remain calm," Bunko-sensei stated, interrupting the students and garnering their attention. "The situation will be resolved shortly, until it is, use the time to do some homework or study." After her words, Bunko-sensei stationed herself by the front door, fully alert.

Glancing about, as the students of 1-C more firmly gathered together in the back of the classroom, Shosei realized that they appeared to be in 1-B's room and she recognized a few of them from Nezu's orientation day speech. They, like 1-C, had gathered themselves together as well, and despite Bunko-sensei's instructions were not doing homework or studying.

Digging into her bag, Shosei pulled out couple decks of cards. "Who's up for some poker?" she asked.

Fujioka grinned. "What exactly are we supposed to be betting?"

"Our dignity? Our uniform's buttons? Not everything has to be about money, Fujioka." The dark-haired boy laughed.

"All right, all right, sorry." He put his hands up in surrender, but retained his smile.

"So, do you just carry around decks of cards?" Masao asked.

"Of course, you never know when you might have to throwdown via card game." Beside her Shinso snorted softly.

"Not all of us know the rules, ya know." Wahana's words were pointedly stated, as if it was somehow Shosei's fault that she didn't know how to play.

"It doesn't have to be poker." Shosei shrugged, as she slit a card pack open with her thumb nail. "Black jack, Bridge, Red Dog, Ninety-nine. I can always teach you the rules to anything you don't know." She tapped out the fresh cards into her palm and settled herself on the ground. "Who knows how long we'll be here."

"What's the easiest to learn?" questioned Asano as he joined her on the ground. A number of other classmates joined him, sitting around her in a way to be able to watch. There were a few who remained standing, but leaned forward to see.

"Hm, I suppose Red Dog and Black Jack have the lesser memorization." As she spoke to the group around her, she flicked the blanks and jokers away across the ground without bothering to look at the deck. "If you can count, you're good." Shosei began to shuffle rapidly, her hands in complete control of themselves. Spiraling, riffling, and even throwing in a few Sybil cuts.

"Woah-oh!" Hitomi exclaimed as she watched Shosei's hands work. "You're like a pro! Where did you learn to do that!"

Shosei supposed 'I like to hustle cards in my spare time' would be an inappropriate answer, so she went with another, less unscrupulous, truth.

"I knew this guy in junior high, who could do all these card tricks. I once saw him stick a dart board bullseye with a card. It was really impressive, so I asked him to teach me."

Hayasatsu Ryoka had been at Malakor Junior High as well, he was also one of her foster brothers, having been brought in a year after her. He'd been one of the few decent sorts she'd known. At first, anyway. After she'd asked to learn the card tricks, they'd grown closer in the following years and when they were in their last year, he'd kissed her. Which hadn't been unwanted. Him shoving his hand up her shirt, however, was. He was lucky she hadn't slapped him with a nasty case of botulism and simply broke off any form of friendship. They still had to live with each other, of course, which caused a level of tension in the house. Despite being a massive ass, his card skills were still impressive.

"Can you do that flicking thing?" A deep voice asked, causing most of them to jump. A tall silver-haired guy had joined their gathering.

"Throwing cards? Yeah, I wouldn't say I'm an expect at it, though."

His face brightened at her words and he smiled showing off sharp teeth. "Can I see?"

"Er," Shosei looked around at the very full room, noting that other members of 1-B were watching them as well. "I'm not sure. I don't want to hit anybody."

"That's fine, just aim at me!" The members of 1-C had varying levels of dubious expressions growing. "I can turn to steel; you won't be able to hurt me!"

Wahana laughed darkly. "I say go for it."

Sighing, a ginger-headed girl walked up to them, standing by her classmate. "Cut it out, Tetsutetsu, you're freaking them all out."

"Ah, come on Kendo, I just want to see a cool card trick," the boy named Tetsutetsu – surely that was a joke, right? – whined at the girl. He then turned to Shosei. "I wasn't bothering you, right? You were gonna show them anyway, weren't you?"

Shosei ran her eyes over the gathered members of her class, none of them appeared to be particularly put out.

"Why not," Choari said. "I'm down."

"Yeah," agreed Tsuka. "Like you said, who knows how long we'll be here."

"Fine, fine," Shosei stood, dusting off her skirt, "but I'm not going to hit anyone. Man of literal steel or otherwise." She slipped three cards off the top, slotting them between each of her fingers on her right hand. "If you guys could move? Anywhere is fine, just not in front of me." The class shuffled over, gathering between the rows of desks. A few members of 1-B joining them. "Don't do this at home."

Shosei whipped her arm forward and back three times. Each time at the apex, the moment before the withdrew her arm, she released a card. Quickly the three cards spun out, twisting upwards – making good use of the high ceiling – before spinning back down to her once more. As they came back, she stepped to the side, letting them harmlessly hit the floor and scatter.

Tetsutetsu's eyes widened and he took in an excited inhalation. "You boomeranged them!" He quickly moved in front of her, invading her personal space. "You gotta teach me that! You gotta!"

Kendo reacted quickly, grabbing her classmate by the back of his jacket collar and hauling him out of Shosei's face. "Don't climb all over her! Show a little restraint."

"I don't know," Aokai shrugged, "would've been cooler if you'd caught them, Froyo."

She grit her teeth, but smiled. "Maybe next time."

"You're still gonna teach us, right?" Tetsutetsu was straining against Kendo's hold on him. Before Shosei could say anything, Emiru Motomu spoke.

"It could be fun."

"More people could do this together," Juuhiro agreed.

"One-B could join us too," added Koneko.

"There's forty people in here," Asano started, "is there even a safe way to set this up?"

As the room dissolved into numerous discussions, Shosei's eyes drifted over to Kendo, who seemed to be the one running the show – she was probably their class rep – and found the girl watching her. There was a question in her eyes. Shosei answered it with a minute shrug. She wasn't against the idea.

"Okay!" Kendo interrupted, releasing Tetsutetsu from her grip. "But we're doing this a safely as possible! Anyone who doesn't want to join in is more than welcome to do something else." Turning to Shosei, the girl asked, "Is there a certain way we should set this up?"

"We'll want to clear up as much room as we can." Shosei looked around, scanning the room as she thought. Two rows back-to-back length-ways down the room didn't leave enough room on either side for throwing, not really. As she discarded that idea, another came to her. "Okay, we'll see if this works out."

She gave out her instructions for how to best set up the room. Move desks and chairs to the sides, clearing the center to for a circle, but stack a couple desks to create a pillar what would be their 'target,' and hopefully protect everyone else. Forty people was still a lot to fit around, but there were a few who decided against joining in, so instead they set up a group of desks for them to use.

As the two classes shuffled about to set up the room, Kendo walked over to Shosei – who was picking up her discarded cards – and introduced herself properly, which Shosei returned.

"Sorry for Tetsutetsu, he can get pretty intense sometimes."

"It's okay. I've actually met worse." She had. Her neighborhood had quite the eclectic bunch. Gathering her two other unopened packs, Shosei gave one to the other group – in case they wanted to do something with them. "We'll see how this goes, if it gets out of hand we'll stop," she said slitting open the other deck with a nail.

"Sounds good," concurred Kendo.

The pair looked to the center of the room, the desk pillar was four high and looked stable. Someone had drawn a bullseye on a piece of paper and taped it to the desks, which had encouraged others to do the same, some with other bullseyes, but other's with different drawings, creating the worst holiday tree substitute Shosei had ever seen. The group of students had formed a loose circle around the setup.

"Shall we go over to Whoville and lay down the law?" she asked.

Kendo laughed and nodded.

Shosei stepped between Asano and a guy from class B, handing each of them a deck. "Take three of four and pass them on," she instructed. She pulled out her three from her jacket pocket and walked further into the center, Kendo following as a show of unity. "Okay, now none of you will aim at anything _other_ than this…" she gestured at the decorated desk pillar as she circled around it, "work of art. If you use up all of your cards, don't go out and get more until everyone else is done throwing. Also, don't act like some wild west Snipe-sensei," there were snorts from her classmates, "and launch your cards about with abandon. They _can_ hurt people." The distance between them and their target – and the people beside them – meant that optimal throwing would be difficult to reach, but would likely keep out of control hurling to a minimum.

Kendo nodded. "If things start getting out of hand or dangerous, I will step in." She let the threat hang for a moment. "Shigeyo and I both agree that safety is our top priority here."

"She likes it if you call her Froyo!" A deep voice called out from the other side of the pillar.

"Shut up, Aokai!" Shosei barked, hearing a cry of 'ow' come from him as Mihoko pinched his arm. "All right, I'll try to do this as best I can, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Now, throwing cards was first popularized by stage magicians in the eighteen-hundreds – I'm just kidding," she said to the growing looks of alarm at the idea of a lecture. Beside her Kendo laughed. "There's a couple grips you can try, so let's see what feels best."

Happily, things did not go downhill and the two classes seemed to enjoy themselves. However, they were there for a lot longer than they thought they would be, which meant after some time other activities took over as people decided to do other things.

Eventually, information came through via Bunko-sensei's phone. Once she was finished with the phone call, she garnered the two classes' attention. "The situation has been resolved. One-B, you'll remain here in your classroom, please restore the desks to their proper place. Vlad-King will be returning shortly. One-C, I'll be escorting you back to your homeroom. Once your homeroom teachers have arrived, they will provide you with more information." She input something into her phone and the metal protectors sealing the room retracted.

Belongings were gathered and 1-C exited the room. "There's police cars out there," someone said, causing the class to gather at the large windows to look. Down below were a number of police cars, lights flashing, and their officers.

"Seriously?" a voice came from behind them in 1-B's room, but a sharp look from Bunko-sensei kept the class from leaving. "Stay inside," she ordered. "One-C, come with me."

Throwing a few last inquisitive glances to the campus below, they followed. Even more curious about what had happened.

Snipe-sensei finally returned, relieving Bunko-sensei from her post, a few minutes after the class had all settled down in their seats. He strode to the podium, hands settling on either side of the top, looking out at his students in silence. It remained that way for a short time before he released a sigh and straightened up fully.

"I'm sure you're all wondering what happened today. We're sharing this information with you so you will have the knowledge straight from the source. You will likely hear all sorts of opinions and concerns in the next few days." Snipe's head shifted back and forth, examining the young children before him. "I regret to inform you, that villains invaded our campus," whispers and exclamations broke out only to be silence by a startingly severe look from their teacher. "Not only did they gain access to UA, but they also attacked class One-A during their heroics training in the USJ with the intention of eliminating All Might."

This time it was the shock of the news itself that kept the class silent.

"In response we will be implementing stricter security measures. Rest assured that these will not affect you negatively, nor change your daily schedule." Snipe-sensei pulled out some sort of controller and pressed a button. Above the projector whirled to life, lighting a section of wall above their teacher. "As I said earlier, we want you as informed as reasonably possible," another button was pressed and two side-by-side images appeared on the wall. They were slightly grainy and obviously taken by some kind of security camera. One was the image of a dark purple mist with golden eyes and the other was a blue-haired man in black with multiple detached hands gripping him, one prominently clutching, and hiding, his face.

"These two led the attack and managed to escape. They are _extremely_ dangerous and if, for whatever reason, you see them, call the police straightaway." Snipe-sensei continued to explain the situation to his class and while Shosei listened, she found it nearly impossible to look away from the burning red eyes peeking between the severed hand's fingers. This 'Shigaraki' had eyes feverish with mania. It was a look she'd seen before in the gold eyes of her cousin.

The eyes of someone with a goal, one they would allow no one and nothing to hold them from.

A chill ran over Shosei. Her hands twitched, unsure of where to go. Her left forearm, where her cousin taught her family above all or her right collar bone, where she'd learned her worth to him.

* * *

**While the Exams are Being Graded**

Aizawa was sitting at his desk mindlessly feeding answer sheet after answer sheet through the scanner. The computer did the hard work of entering the grading under the correct applicant's name. It was drudging work, but with the thousands of thousands of people who had applied, all hands were required to help out. Though at the moment, it was only him and Mic in the room, the other teachers had gone for lunch, leaving them to keep watch over all the score sheets, and to continue scanning. They would be given their break when the others returned.

At least this year he hadn't been asked to record the acceptance videos. That had been an actual nightmare (one he'd refused venomously), that dubious honor had been handed off to All Might to record all Hero and General Course student acceptances. Or at least he will be doing that, once they finally figure out who's officially accepted.

A series of beeps broke through his numbed senses, pulling his eyes away from his own machine, currently sucking in another sheet. Looking over to Mic, who was exclaiming his surprise loudly to the machine spitting the answer sheet back out.

"No way, no way," he cried out, snatching up the sheet and staring at it before shoving it into Aizawa's face a second later. "It's a nearly perfect score! _No one_ scores that high!" He pulled the sheet from Mic's hand so he could better read it without it shaking violently a fingers width from his face. Sure enough, the printed score on the paper was nearly perfect and it belonged to one Shigeyo Shosei.

The high score said a lot about her intelligence, plenty of people could score well on the test, but it had been intentionally designed with a number of questions in each portion above a first-year's level. Despite that, it wasn't out of their ability to solve, someone smart enough could take what they knew and apply it to solving problems they didn't. They just needed logic and a calm mind that didn't panic in an unfamiliar, and high-stake, situation.

The exam had been designed deceptively well by Principle Nezu, and was why it the same for General and Hero Course. Both departments had the ability to produce decent heroes, A and B just got a better leg up.

"Pull her up! Pull her up!" Mic urged, gesturing to Aizawa's computer.

"She's already on yours," he somewhat impatiently pointed out.

Mic immediately shoved away on his chair, sliding back to his desk, sullenly, he followed the exuberant man.

"Hey, Eraser." Aizawa hummed in reply. "Are we sure she didn't somehow cheat? Given where she's coming from."

Aizawa quickly found her previous school information.

Malakor Junior High.

Not the most prestigious of schools to ever exist. It also had to unique distinction that eighty percent of graduates, at some point in their life, spent time in jail, or at the least, got arrested for something. Her record, though, was clean, otherwise she wouldn't have gotten so far in the enrollment process.

The address noted down for her wasn't a positive on her side either. It was smackdab in what was considered, and one of the few remaining, Yakuza controlled territory. That didn't mean she was an unscrupulous person either, plenty of good people were in bad situations.

However.

"We shouldn't judge her based solely on where she's coming from, Mic. A bad beginning does not mean a bad ending."

"Yeah, but," Mic hedged with a frown, "check out her Quirk, how creepy."

_"Creepy,"_ Aizawa wondered, spotting and then reading the description. He frowning to himself. _"Try useful."_

Because of her failure in the practical exam, she was slotted towards General Studies. With her grade on the written, she'd make it in, but in Aizawa's opinion, she deserved to be in the Hero Course. She might not be flashy, but Shigeyo could take the hero scene with ease. He didn't know the intricacies of her Quirk, but with a single touch she could put a Villain down and out before the fight even got going.

Though, in an open setting, that might be a bit more difficult. She'd probably make a better underground hero, like him, then. A fast and brutal sneak attack in a narrow passageway would be her best option in a fight. They wouldn't have as easy of a time avoiding her that way.

Blinking himself out of his mind, which had been running away with formulations of Shigeyo's potential, Aizawa came back to the moment at hand.

"– walking germs. Have we thought about that? Is she contagious?"

He turned away from Mic's rambling and returned to his desk.

Shigeyo Shosei was another name of the list of people who proved the practical exam UA held was completely irrational and discounted a number of more useful Quirks, allowing prospective heroes to slip through the cracks.

Aizawa might not be able to do anything about that aspect of the exam, but he could do something about his class roster after the apprehension test.

* * *

Just a note - I didn't include the class list this time, cause it's so much... but if you guys really want it let me know. I can pare it down. (Also my Quirk ideas have gotten out of hand...)


End file.
